


Just The Way Things Are

by OneMoreNight1996



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Betty wants to help, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gladys is a terrible mother, baby JB, fp is in jail, jughead takes care of jellybean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-05-15 02:58:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 39,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19286719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneMoreNight1996/pseuds/OneMoreNight1996
Summary: Jughead and Betty get paired together for a school project, which leads Betty to find out about Jughead's home situation. She wants to help him, even though her mother disapproves, and she is determined to make things a little easier for him. They quickly become closer and something like a family, each of them finding something they didn't expect. Love.





	1. Chapter 1

Betty was sitting in her world history class when the teacher announced a project that they would need a partner for. The room erupted in excited chatter, everyone looking around to find their friends before their enthusiasm was quickly doused by the teacher following up her statement by saying she had assigned them each a partner, so they wouldn't get to chose their own. Everyone quickly deflated as she started listing pairs of names.

"Veronica Lodge and Cheryl Blossom." Betty heard and she grimaced as she gave Veronica a sympathetic look. The teacher would be lucky if they didn't kill each other before they completed the project.

"Archie Andrews and Reggie Mantle." The project was likely to not get finished at all, or be hastily thrown together at the last minute. She loved Archie, he was her best friend, but he wasn't the best student and neither was Reggie. She perked up when she heard her own name after a few more pairs were rattled off.

"Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones." Betty glanced at the boy in the back corner of the room. They had been friends when they were kids, but had grown apart sometime in middle school. She knew he was smart, but she also knew that he tended to miss school on a regular basis and she wasn't looking froward to completing most of the project on her own, but she stood and moved to sit next to him after the teacher had finished. He glanced at her with a cautious look on his face like he expected her to insult him at any moment, but instead she gave him a friendly smile before looking back to the front of the room as the teacher explained the project.

It seemed simple enough. Pick your favorite era of history, in any part of the world and write an essay with an accompanying power point on the issues in that era. Betty made a note of the instructions in her notebook so that she wouldn't accidently forget to do a part of it. The teacher finished explaining the project before she allowed them to begin talking amongst themselves and she turned her attention back to Jughead. He was twirling his pencil between his fingers and staring at the desk in front of him. 

Betty took a moment to observe him while he wasn't paying attention. He had dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't had a good nights sleep in a while, and he held tension in his brow. He seemed on edge, anxious almost and she found herself wanting to ask if he was okay, but she knew he'd probably just glare at her before snapping something snarky. She cleared her throat, unintentionally gaining his attention as he turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. She sighed and bit her lip.

"So, what's your favorite era of history?" She asked. He shrugged and snorted.

"They all sucked for one group of people or another. It's human nature to cause conflict." He said and she sighed again. 

"Right, but that doesn't really help us decide what to write about for the project." She said. He scoffed as he looked at her.

"Worried I'm going to ruin your perfect 4.0 princess?" He snarked and she rolled her eyes before flipping her book open.

"Fine. I'll decide, and you can help when you decide to stop being an asshole." She said. She saw his eyebrows raise as an expression of surprise covered his face.

"Betty Cooper, what would your mother say if she heard you talking like that." He said and Betty resisted the urge to hit him. They'd been working together for less than ten minutes and she was already annoyed. Maybe it would be her and Jughead who would kill each other before the project was over instead of Cheryl and Veronica. Their teacher had literally put together the worst pairs in history, and Betty was sure she would regret it by the end of this. 

"I'm not that stupid little girl you used to know Jughead." She snapped as she skimmed the book with her eyes.

"Good. She was boring." He said and Betty gritted her teeth and refused to respond as she searched for a topic. She heard Jughead sigh before his voice came again, more serious this time. "We could do the sixties."

"Why the sixties?" She said, glancing at him in surprise. He shrugged.

"A lot happened in the sixties. The Vietnam War, fighting for gay rights, hippies, a variety of things to write about." He said. She studied his face for a moment, wondering if he was just messing around, but he seemed serious about it and she shrugged.

"The sixties could be fun." She agreed cautiously and he smiled, a small one, but she could tell it was a real one. She returned the smile before she made her way to the front of the room to grab a laptop and bring it back to their desks, which were now pushed together. 

They spent the rest of class researching things for their essay, with Betty taking notes as Jughead scrolled through and picked out the important things, as well as some interesting trivia they'd found that she figured they could fit into the project somehow. Right before the bell rang, they made plans to meet up over the weekend to work on it. Jughead told her he'd call her when he was free, and they could meet up at Pop's, which she agreed to. 

Betty left the class feeling slightly better about being partnered with Jughead and Veronica met her outside the classroom and quickly grabbed her arm to drag her down the hall toward the cafeteria. They were quiet as they went through the line and got their food but the moment they sat down at their regular table, where Archie and Kevin were already sitting, Veronica turned to her.

"I swear to God, I am going to end up in jail before this project is over for strangling Cheryl with her own hair." She snapped and Betty snorted at her dramatic antics while Kevin piped up next to her.

"Inventive." He quipped.

"I thought so." Veronica said and Betty glanced between them before meeting Archie's eyes.

"How are you doing with your partner Archie?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Fine. Reg and I will get it done, eventually." He said and Veronica rolled her eyes.

"You better. Both of you need to pass the class or they won't allow you to play football anymore." She said looking at him. "You have to have good grades to participate in extracurriculars, remember?" 

"We'll get it done." Archie insisted. Betty and Veronica shared a look with Kevin but they all let it go, and didn't comment on it any further as Veronica looked at her.

"What about you B?" She asked. "Jughead Jones."

"He's fine, V. We used to be friends so I'm sure we can get this project done without any major drama." She said and Veronica seemed to perk up.

"Used to be friends?" She asked. Betty shrugged.

"When we were young, Archie, Jughead and I used to spend a lot of time together. We were good friends." She explained and Veronica raised an eyebrow.

"Why aren't you friend's anymore?" She asked.

"It's not some big dramatic story, we just....grew apart I guess." She said, glancing across the cafeteria to where the boy was sitting by himself. She noticed him wrapping up his sandwich and stuffing it into his bag, presumably to take home with him. "He lives on the south side, we live on the north side. Things just changed."

"He seems....sad." Veronica said, following her gaze.

"Maybe we should invite him to sit with us." Archie said quietly and they looked at him.

"I don't know if he'd accept the invitation Arch." Kevin said next to him. "He's kind of a loner. Besides, I think he'd take it as a pity thing, and be pissed off at us."

"Well this project is going to take a few weeks, so maybe I can get him to loosen up around me at least." Betty said, picking at the muffin on her plate. "Maybe then he'll realize that it isn't pity."

"Isn't it though?" Kevin asked and Betty's eyes snapped up to his.

"No, Kev, it isn't pity. We used to be friends and I want that back. He's a good guy, he deserves for someone to be his friend." She said. Kevin had the decency to look sheepish.

"Sorry." He muttered. Veronica raised an eyebrow as she watched Jughead stand and leave the cafeteria.

"I'll say one thing, he's not bad to look at." She said. Betty gave her a look.

"Hey!" Archie exclaimed and Veronica grinned at him.

"I love you Archiekins, but that doesn't mean I've suddenly gone blind and can't appreciate a nice face." She said and Betty rolled her eyes.

"Can you please not objectify my project partner?" She said and Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I'll be nice." She said.

Not long after the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch, sending them all back to classes. Betty took meticulous notes in each one that she would later copy onto another page, this time color coding it like she did with most things. By the end of the day she was ready to go home and begin more in depth research for the project, but first she had practice in the gym. She and Veronica had become River Vixens together in their sophomore year, which Betty had been thoroughly excited about, but now leading into their senior year she was kind of over it. The only reason she stayed on the team, was because she knew her mother hated it and she wanted to do something to spite her.

So she spent an hour after school listening to Cheryl bark orders at them, before she finally released them. As she and Veronica made their way through the halls of the school and out to the parking lot, she let her mind wander to the list of things she needed to complete, compiling a list in her head. She agreed to give Veronica a ride home since Archie practice was running long, and the moment she started the car Veronica turned the station to some mindless pop music, which they promptly began singing at the top of their lungs. Betty knew that as she drove down the street, that they must seem obnoxious to the people they passed but she had decided recently that she wasn't going to let other peoples opinions affect her, so she joined her friend.

They were laughing by the time they made it to the Pembrooke, mainly because of the look they'd received from an old lady in the car next to them at the stop light. Veronica leaned over to hug her before climbing out and waving before she walked into the building. Betty waited until she saw her go through the doors before she pulled out and started driving toward her own house. She pulled the car into the garage and quickly grabbed her bag before going inside. Her mother and father were sitting at the dinner table already, with Polly sitting at the side. They shared a look before she rushed upstairs to drop off her school things before bounding back downstairs to join them. As soon as she scooted her chair in her mother turned to her.

"We can finally start dinner. Thanks so much for gracing us with your presence, Elizabeth." She said sarcastically. Betty resisted the urge to roll her eyes knowing that it would only make things worse.

"I had to drop Veronica off." She explained and her mother scoffed.

"I'm sure she could have called a car to pick her up. You know we were waiting for you." She said and Betty sighed.

:You could have started without me." She said. Her mother glared at her for a moment, everyone around the table silent and waiting on her next move, before she snatched the bowl of potatoes off the table and began serving them.

"Next time we will." She snapped.

Betty endured an awkward dinner and small talk with her family until she was able to escape to her room and begin her research. She delved deep and took notes as she went for an hour, before she closed the laptop and redid the rest of her notes before placing them in her binder neatly. By the time she was done she was yawning so she put all of her things away before changing into her PJ's and brushing her teeth. She flipped off all the lights and climbed into her bed early. She was asleep before ten minutes had gone by, strange fuzzy images of the sixties floating through her dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

When Jughead got home from school he tossed his backpack into his room before leaving the trailer again to make the trip to Toni's trailer. Her grandfather looked after Jellybean while Jughead was at school but he tried not to leave her with him for too long after he got home. The man was already helping him out immensely and he didn't want to take advantage of his kindness. When he got to the trailer, Toni already had Jellybean wrapped in her blanket and laid in the rickety stroller that he'd picked up on the side of the rode with a free sign attached to it. She gave him a smile as her grandfather made his way into the room.

"She was a little fussy today Jug." He said looking down at the baby as he spoke. "She had a bit of a fever. I think she may be getting sick so you might want to take her down to the clinic just in case."

"I'll do that." He said. "Thank you."

He took the handle of the stroller and started pulling it out the door with Toni following behind. She lifted the edge of it to help him get down the stairs without jostling the sleeping baby inside of it, and he bid her goodbye once the stroller was firmly on the ground. As she went back inside Jughead turned the stroller in the direction of the free clinic that was positioned on the far end of the south side and began the walk there. Many people on the south side knew the position he was in with his parents and little sister and they all pitched in to help when they could but he hated asking for help.

Jellybean had turned six months old only a week ago and he wasn't sure if either of his parents even realized it. His father was serving time for another drug charge, he wasn't even sure what it was this time, and his mother had split two days after Jellybean was born. Jughead had woken up to the sound of his little sister crying and had gotten up to investigate when the noise didn't stop only to find a hastily scribbled note from his mother claiming that she couldn't handle this life and he was suddenly left alone with a newborn to take care of. That night he'd dug through his pockets to find some money from his job at the drive in and managed to find enough to buy a can of formula to feed his sister.

Ever since that night he'd become the sole provider for his sister. Some nights he'd take her with him when he had to work and he'd lay her on the cot in the corner of the projection booth as he did his job. He always made sure to turn the lights off and use as little amount of water as he could to keep the bills low enough that he could afford to pay them and still buy food for the house. He was thankful that his parents had purchased the trailer outright so he didn't have to make his paycheck stretch to pay rent on top if everything else. 

Some days he got so angry at his parents that he wanted to scream until he lost his voice but when he looked at his little sister he knew that he couldn't afford to lose it. He knew that he just had to suck it up and deal with the hand that life had dealt him so that he could hopefully give her a better life than he had. She became his priority from that moment on and he'd come very close to just dropping out of school completely to pick up a second job but Toni's grandfather had come over to his trailer and convinced him to finish. He remembered that the man had told him to focus on finishing school for his sister because he'd be able to get a better job one day if he had at least a high school diploma. 

Jughead reached the clinic quicker than he'd expected, lost in thought as he was, and he went inside the building quickly. He signed in before taking a seat against the wall to wait, knowing that it could take a while to get in. There weren't very many people in the waiting room so he took that as a good sign that maybe they'd get out of here before the sun seat outside. As he waited he unhooked the straps and lifted Jellybean out of the stroller and unwrapped the blanket around her before laying it back in the stroller. 

She looked up at him her blue eyes, so much like his, shining up at him and he smiled as he bounced her in his arms lightly. She stuffed her fist into her mouth and began chewing on it as he talked to her, and he used the edge of her blanket to wipe the slobber from her face. She'd began teething recently and it seemed that the slobber never ended as he was constantly wiping it. He played with her while the others were called back one by one and, after they'd been sitting there for an hour and a half, they were finally called back. The nurse did a basic check of her weight and temperature, which he noticed was a little high. before she left them in a room to wait some more.

When the doctor finally made an appearance Jughead laid Jellybean down on the exam table and explained that she'd had a fever for a couple of days so he wanted to get her checked out just in case. The doctor moved to the other side of the table and completed her examination before going back to the counter in the corner of the room where she began making note on the file. Jughead lifted Jellybean back into his arms as the doctor turned to face him.

"Well, during my examination I noticed that it sounds like she has a bit of fluid in her chest, most likely mucus build up. Her nose is a bit stuffy, so I'm pretty sure that she has a cold." She said and Jughead nodded,

"Does she need medication?" He asked and the doctor sighed.

"At her age there's not really much that we can give her. Use some over the counter children's Tylenol to control her fever and put some vapor rub on her chest. There's not much to do but wait for it to pass. If she isn't better in two weeks then bring her back in, but other than that, she should recover just fine." She said and Jughead nodded as she handed him the papers to give to the front desk.

"Thank you so much." He said as he placed Jellybean gently back into the stroller before following the doctor out. She lead him to the window where he handed the papers to the receptionist before leaving. Once he got outside he began the walk home once again, making a small pit stop at the store to buy Tylenol and vapor rub, before continuing on. 

When he got home he took Jellybean out of the stroller before folding it up and placing it in the corner and then he proceeded to feed her. He gave her baby food bananas that she loved before giving her a bath and putting the vapor rub on her chest. After that he gave her a dose of Tylenol before putting her in her pajamas and making her a small bottle. He took her into the bedroom and sat on his bed as he gave her the bottle and her eyes slipped closed halfway through the milk so he gently removed the bottle from her mouth and moved her to his shoulder to burp her. After she finally burped, he rocked her for a few minutes to get her fully to sleep before laying her in the crib that was wedged between his mattress and the wall.

He got up and flipped the light off as he left the room, leaving the door open a little so he'd hear her if she started crying, as he made his way to the kitchen. He dug through the cabinets, making note of the food he had left, before deciding to just make himself a sandwich with the leftover chicken that Toni had brought over the day before. He finished the sandwich quickly and turned off all the lights before going back to the bedroom and collapsing onto the mattress. Jellybean was pretty good at sleeping through the night already but she was sick so he was prepared to have to get up at some point in the night to tend to her so he forced the thoughts of the day out of his mind as his eyes slipped closed. He went out like a light in only a few minutes, exhausted from the stress put on his shoulders.


	3. Chapter 3

Betty spent the weekend waiting for Jughead to call so that they could meet up but the call never came and by Sunday afternoon she was ready march over to his house and demand that they work on their project. She decided to do just that only moments after the thought crossed her mind and she bounded down the stairs to grab the keys to the station wagon. As she spun toward the door, her eye caught on a figure in the living room and she turned completely to see Polly sitting on the couch with a book on her lap. She had glanced up whens she heard the keys jingle and their eyes met.

"Going somewhere?" Polly asked and Betty shrugged.

"I need to work on a school project and my partner has apparently forgotten about it so I'm going to his house." She explained.

"I'll tell mom and dad where you went when they get home." She said and Betty studied her for a moment.

"Why do you stay here Polly? You're old enough to live on your own and you wouldn't have to listen to their quips about your appearance or life choices." Betty said. "I can't wait to get out of here."

"You're technically old enough to live on your own too Betty, if you wanted to." She said and Betty shrugged.

"Where would I go? You know if I stayed in Riverdale then they'd still pester me." Betty said and Polly shrugged.

"I'm just saying that you could leave, if you wanted, and they couldn't say anything about it because you're eighteen." She said. "And the answer to your question is you."

"What?" Betty asked. Polly sighed and laid the book down to give Betty her full attention.

"The reason I stay here. It's you." She said. "I couldn't leave you here with them by yourself. They're bad enough when both of us are in the room, I can only imagine how bad it would be for you if I left."

"Polly, you shouldn't stay for me, I can handle it." Betty said giving her sister a sad smile. "If you want to leave then you should go. Like you said, I'm old enough to leave, so if it gets too bad then I can just walk away. Seriously, you should go. Get out while you can."

She didn't give Polly a chance to respond, hoping that her sister would seriously consider their conversation and leave. Their mother and father always found something to pick at, no matter how minor it seemed, and her mother had a way of making you feel like you were doing something wrong by just looking at you. When Betty had been a sophomore in high school, Polly had had a pregnancy scare, and their parents hadn't let her forget it for a second since then. 

One night, a few days after their parents had found out and dragged Polly to the clinic, Betty had heard them yelling in the other room. She'd heard her parents tear into Polly, not letting up for over an hour, and throwing out the word slut multiple times. Betty had been angry on her sisters behalf because Polly was hardly a slut for having sex with her own boyfriend but she hadn't wanted to invite the insults and anger her way so she had climbed out of bed as quietly as she could and grabbed her phone off the desk before plugging in her headphones. 

She'd had the volume up but had still heard when her sisters bedroom door slammed shut before the yelling floated across the hall. Her parents continued yelling and arguing, this time with each other, well into the night and Betty had curled into her bed trying to block out the noise with music. The next morning they were called down to breakfast, each of them with red rimmed eyes from lack of sleep and tears, to see their parents sitting at the table like nothing had happened the night before. Betty and Polly had been quiet that day and everyday after that, they had learned to keep their voices low with the hopes of not catching the attention of their parents and their anger. Betty hoped that Polly took her advice and finally left.

Betty climbed into the car as she shoved the thoughts out of her head and focused on driving through town and into the south side. She remembered where Jughead lived from the times that they'd spend summers in middle school walking around town and going to swimming holes. She pulled into his driveway in record time, the trailers around his seemed crammed together to fit in the small amount of space available, and she parked her car next to the motorcycle that she'd seen him driving. She climbed out of the car, pulling her backpack with her, before she walked up to his door and knocked lightly.

She waited a few minutes before she knocked even louder and she heard someone cursing inside before the door was yanked open. Jughead seemed shocked to see her on his doorstep, his mouth hanging open slightly as he glanced around as if he was trying to determine if she was real and she gave him a friendly smile which seemed to snap him out of it.

"What are you doing here?" He asked and she raised an eyebrow.

"You said you'd call me so we could work on the project but you never did." She said, adjusting the strap of her backpack on her shoulder, drawing his eye to it, before they came back up to meet hers.

'What, you want to work on it now?" He asked, seeming surprised and she nodded.

"Of course. Is this a bad time?" She asked. He glanced over his shoulder into the house before he turned back to her with his lip between his teeth.

"Uh, no, come in." He said as he stepped to the side. She smiled again as she stepped past him into the trailer. Her eyes roamed the room, taking in her surroundings, as the door closed behind her and on her second pass over the room her eye caught on the baby in the floor. Their was a blanket spread out underneath her and she was laying on it on her belly and Betty dropped her backpack to the floor as she turned to look at Jughead. His hand was rubbing along the back of his neck, tugging on the grey beanie he always wore as he studied her, seemingly waiting on a reaction.

"Is she yours?" Betty asked cautiously, not sure how to address the situation. He sighed and shook his head as he made his way over to sit on the floor next to the baby.

"She's my little sister." He said. Betty nodded as she followed him and sat across from him on the floor, they baby between them.

"Where are your parents?" She asked and his eyes snapped to her. 

"My dad's in jail. I had thought your parents would have said something, seeing as they run the paper where his arrest was announced." He said and she nodded.

"And what about your mom?" She asked studying his face. He looked away from her, his eyes going to the baby on the floor.

"She's at work." He said slowly. "She works a lot."

Betty heard the lie in his voice but she didn't call him out on it, it wasn't her place to judge someone else's family drama, she had plenty of it on her own. She followed his gaze to the baby between them, happily chewing on the edge of her blanket and a soft smile crossed her face as she watched. She glanced up at Jughead, who still had his eyes on the baby, before she cleared her throat drawing his attention to her.

"Can I hold her?" She asked and he studied her for a moment before he nodded and moved to pick the baby up from the ground. She scooted closer to him as he transferred the baby into her arms and she smiled down at the girl when she had a firm hold on her. She ran her finger down the baby's cheek as she looked at her. "She's beautiful."

"She's the best part of my world." Jughead uttered quietly, his eyes never leaving the baby.

"What's her name?" Betty asked. A small smile crossed Jughead's face.

"Jellybean." He said and Betty raised an eyebrow.

"Is that her real name?" She asked and he laughed quietly.

"No, just like Jughead isn't my real name." He said and she looked at him.

"I know your real name. Please tell me that her's isn't as unfortunate." She said teasingly and he laughed more fully this time as he looked up to meet her eyes.

"I'm afraid so." He said and Betty grinned.

"We'll stick with Jellybean then." She said and he nodded.

"I thought it was a good name." He said.

They spent a few more minute playing with Jellybean before Jughead took her from Betty's arms and laid her back on the floor for more tummy time, leaving them free to grab their laptops and begin crafting their power point deciding to tackle the essay after that. They stayed on the floor next to Jellybean, pressed together as they leaned against the coffee table, for hours as they worked and completed the preliminary power point subject to edits later into the project. 

Before starting on a rough draft of their essay Jughead suggested they get some coffee to keep their energy up. Betty stayed on the floor next to Jellybean as he brewed a pot of coffee and brought her a mug of black coffee, asking her if she wanted anything in it, which she refused. She preferred her coffee black which seemed to surprise Jughead but he didn't comment on it as they started working again, occasionally sipping their drinks as they went. They finished the rough draft quickly, which Betty knew meant they'd probably find a lot of issues when they went over it again later, but she was content to close their laptops after they'd gotten it done.

She asked Jughead if she could feed Jellybean when he had gotten up to make her a bottle and he handed it over with no protest, flipping on the TV and laying on the couch as she did, and Betty found herself walking back and forth rocking the baby in her arms as she feed her. She was so caught up in feeding and burping the baby that she didn't notice the sounds from the couch stop and as she turned to look, she realized that Jughead had fallen asleep on the couch. 

He seemed so much younger when he was sleeping, the constant furrow of his brow smoothed out as he slept, and she found herself studying his face. He had dark circles under his eyes like he didn't get enough sleep and it was obvious that his mother didn't live here despite the lie he'd told leading Betty to deduce that he was probably taking care of Jellybean on his own while still going to school. She knew that he must be under an immense amount of stress and she began to understand why he missed school so much lately. She looked down at the baby in her arms and almost wanted to cry. No one should be forced to take on so much responsibility at such a young age just because their parents were trainwrecks.

She sighed as she glanced around the trailer and her eye caught on a play pin in the corner of the room. She knelt down and grabbed the blanket from the floor and laid it into the play pin as she held Jellybean close to her with one arm tucked around her and when she got the blanket situated, she laid the sleeping baby down inside before stepping away. She grabbed a blanket off the back off the couch and laid it over Jughead on the couch before she packed up her things into her bag.

She left the trailer quietly and drove to the store to buy a few things before she came back. Jughead and Jellybean were just how she'd left them so she let them sleep as she dug around in the cabinets and pulled out a pot that she filled with water to begin boiling before she added the pasta. As that cooked, she crumbled up some meat and out it in a frying pan with some crushed tomatoes and basil. When the noddles were finished, she drained them and added the sauce that she'd made and mixed it up before taking it off of the heat and turning the stove off. She placed a lid on the food before searching around for a notepad and pen. She left a note on the counter for Jughead to find explaining that she'd had to get back home but had left dinner for him before she turned off the lights and TV and slipped out of the trailer again.

She drove home quickly parking the car next to her parents cars before entering the house. Her mother was still putting things on the table meaning that she wasn't late like she had been a few days before so she dropped her bag in her room quickly before joining them at the table. She and Polly glanced at each other over the table, her mind going back to the conversation they'd had earlier in the day, and she gave her a look that said everything she wanted too. They ate quietly, answering properly when they were asked questions, like a practiced routine before they were finally able to leave the table.

Betty retreated to her room to go over the rough draft they'd made that day as the sounds of her parents settling down for the night floated to her before she put away her work and climbed into bed. She was startled a few hours later as she scrolled through her text thread with Veronica by the sound of her bedroom door creaking open. When she glanced up she saw Polly standing in the doorway fully dressed and she hopped out of bed to look at her, noticing the dufflebag she had slung over her shoulder.

"Are you leaving?" She asked, keeping her voice low so she wouldn't alert their parents.

"Yeah. You were right, I can't stay here forever." Polly said biting her lip. "I'm going to leave my phone here so they can't track me but I'll call you with my new number when I get somewhere safe."

They stared at each other for a long moment before Betty moved toward her and wrapped her arms around Polly. Polly returned the hug and they held each other for a long moment before Betty pulled back to look at her, and study her face for a moment,trying to memorize every part of her before she let her go and stepped back.

"Be careful out there Polly." She said softly.

"Be careful here Betty." Polly said.

"I love you, Pol." She said and Polly smiled sadly.

"I love you too, Betty. Never forget that." She said. "You have someone in your corner."

"I won't forget." She assured her.

Betty followed Polly down the stairs and they hugged once more before Polly disappeared out the front door and Betty flipped the lock behind her. Betty walked back up the stairs avoiding the creaky steps until she reached the landing and tiptoed back to her room making sure the door clicked closed as quietly as she could make it. She picked up her phone again to check the time and realized that it was well after midnight so she flipped the screen off and laid it on her bedside table as she slid into bed. She sent a silent prayer up that Polly would be safe before she slipped into sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Jughead startled awake in the middle of the night and had panicked for a moment as he rolled off the couch and stumbled over to the playpen in the corner. When he saw Jellybean sleeping peacefully inside he took a deep breath and made an effort to calm his racing heart as he looked around the room. All of the lights in the trailer were off but the moonlight was flowing through the window and lighting up the room slightly as he made his way to the kitchen. The first thing he noticed was the pan on the stove and he approached it, taking off the lid cautiously, and found that it was spaghetti. He knew that Betty must have made it before she left, which he knew meant that she'd probably gone through the cabinets because he was quite sure that he didn't have the ingredients for it in his cabinets. 

He heated up the food and ate it quietly, finding that he couldn't go back to sleep as he worried about what Betty might say about his living situation and to who. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize what time it actually was until his phone began ringing with an alarm across the room and he scrambled to get to it before it woke Jellybean. It was only five in the morning but he began packing Jellybeans bag for the day before pulling out an outfit for her to wear. After he had double checked that she had everything she needed in her bag, he sat it to the side and began packing his own backpack, putting some of the spaghetti into a tupperware bowl for him to have later.

He checked on Jellybean again to make sure that she was still sleeping soundly before he jumped into the shower for a quick wash, leaving the door open in case she began crying. After his shower he got dressed quickly and went to make a bottle for Jelly bean before he woke her up. He fed her at the kitchen table, giving her some baby food along with her bottle, before he unfolded the stroller and laid her into it, placing her bag in the bottom of it where it had a little basket and slinging his own bag over his shoulder. 

He left the house at six-forty in the morning and made his way over to Toni's and she opened the door for him when he knocked. She was already dressed and ready for school as well as she helped him get Jellybean inside and her grandfather took her out of the stroller as they stood to the side and Jughead let him know that she had Tylenol in her bag if her fever picked up again before he kissed her goodbye and made his way out of the trailer with Toni.

"You need a ride to school?" He asked, knowing that she was waiting on a part to fix her own bike.

"Sure." She shrugged and they trudged back over to Jughead's trailer and she climbed on to the back of his bike, wrapping her arms around him as he started off. 

They got to school pretty quickly, giving them a little while before classes started, and Toni left him at the door as she went off in search of someone. Jughead began his own quest to find a certain blond haired girl-next-door, which he spotted pretty quickly standing in the hallway talking to Veronica Lodge and Kevin Keller. He sighed and straightened his shoulders before making his way toward the group, ignoring the looks he was getting from the two on either side of Betty, as she glanced at him. Betty turned to face him fully when he stopped in front of her and he clenched his hand around his backpack strap as he glanced at Kevin and Veronica and cleared his throat.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked. "Privately."

"Sure." She said simply, shrugging her shoulders as she bid goodbye to her friends and led him down the hall. He followed after her quickly as she ducked into a room at the end of the hall and, once they were inside, she closed the door behind them blocking out the rest of the school. 

She turned to look at him as he stood awkwardly in the middle of the room he now recognized as the blue and gold office. He knew that she was waiting to see what he wanted as he glanced around the room and shifted his feet against the carpet as he rubbed the back of his neck, tugging at the beanie, a nervous habit he was trying to break, as he looked up at her and she gave him a friendly smile so he blew out a breath and began speaking.

"Look, about my living situation...." He started. "I'd rather if you kept that to yourself."

"You don't need to worry Jughead, I'm not going to say anything." She said and he looked at her fully. "As far as I'm concerned, it's no one's business but your own."

"Seriously, you're not going to tell me that I need to talk to someone? Like social services?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Jellybean seemed well taken care of." She said. "I don't see a reason to involve social services."

"Thank you." He said seriously. "For understanding."

"Of course." She said before biting her lip and looking up at him. He raised an eyebrow in question. "But....if you ever needed someone to talk to about it, I'm here. I know that I can never truly understand what you're going through but I can listen, if you want."

"Why?" He asked, honestly astonished. "I mean, why do you care?"

"We used to be friends until I let my mother push us apart because she didn't approve of me having friends from the south side. I've recently realized that I don't really give a damn what she approves of so I was hoping that we could repair our friendship." She said and Jughead studied her for a long moment. He wasn't used to hearing her curse and it almost made him want to smile. He had always thought that Betty Cooper had the perfect family because they'd seemed so much more put together than his own but he was coming to realize that their were a million ways to be bad parents, and maybe her world wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. He gave her a small smile.

"I'd like that Betty." He told her and she grinned.

"Really?" She asked and the actual excitement in her voice made him laugh slightly.

"Really." He confirmed. She clapped lightly as she seemingly bounced in place and he found himself smiling at her genuine excitement at the prospect of being friends with him. The bell ringing loudly startled both of them for a moment as they looked at each other with wide eyes, both having jumped when it sounded, before Betty snorted and they erupted into laughter. 

They took a moment to calm down before they each had to rush to their respective classes and Jughead found the he was genuinely excited by the thought of them being friends as well. He, Betty, and Archie had been inseparable when they were younger, even when everyone else in their class had developed the idea of getting cooties from hanging out with someone of the opposite sex, they had remained close and did everything together. They spent almost everyday together, even in the summers, until the reached middle school.

They had began to notice the changes in their bodies, and that was precisely the moment that Betty began to spend less time with them. Jughead had thought that she was embarrassed by the way her body was changing and he had wanted to comfort her, so he had gone to her house but her mother hadn't let him in so he'd decided to text her. They spent a few weeks texting, until that trailed off and came to a complete stop as well. At the same time, Archie had gotten really into sports and even though he always invited him along, Jughead knew that it wasn't really his scene. They all drifted away from each other slowly until he only saw them in passing, and eventually it seemed that Archie and Betty made up and began hanging out again. He knew that they lived next door to each other and it made sense that they started hanging out again, but he had been jealous when he realized it at first because neither of them had reached out to him but he eventually got over it, having to deal with his own problems at home.

After his conversation with Betty, he found himself wondering if things had gone down differently from her side. He knew that her parents, particularly her mother, were obsessed with perfection. He remembered one time, when they were younger, Betty had freaked out when Archie accidently got dirt on her dress and he and Archie had made fun of her for being prissy. She had started crying and ran away, making them both feel bad as they chased after her, but when they got to her house they realized why she had been so panicked about it. Her mother had been sitting on the porch when she got back, and hadn't noticed Archie and Jughead as she tore into her about the stain. They had stayed there and watched until Betty was dragged inside, her mother's shouts still audible as the door slammed shut.

After that day, they had both been careful not to mess up anything Betty was wearing, even loaning her clothes to change into while they played outside so that she could just change back into her clothes before going home and they didn't have to worry about the dirt. Jughead remembered vividly that he had pulled her aside, when Archie wasn't paying attention. and had asked her if her parents hit her because he had been worried and had seen it happen on the south side. She had told him that they didn't, that they only shouted, but that they'd never hit her. He had let it go but he still worried about her after that. He wondered now, if that was why she'd stopped talking to him. She had said that it was because of her mother, and he knew that Alice Cooper was a force to be reckoned with, so he knew it was totally plausible that she had kept Betty from hanging out with any boy once she started showing signs of a more feminine body. It was probably worse that he was from the south side, Alice probably thought he'd knock up her daughter before they were even in high school, never mind the fact that they hadn't been romantically involved.

But now it seemed that Betty was fed up with her parents and ready to make her own decisions and Jughead was eager to get to know that girl he had known as a child now that she was all grown up. She gave off the perfect girl-next-door vibe but he knew that was an image carefully crafted from years of her parents expectations, and he wanted to know the real Betty, the one that she hid from everyone, the one that she was under that facade. They had been best friends before they grew apart and he wanted to regain that. He had already shared his biggest secret with her and he hoped that, one day, she would be comfortable enough to share hers.


	5. Chapter 5

Betty got home from school to find her parents sitting in the living room and the moment she steeped through the door they called her into the room. She could tell by their body language that whatever they were about to say, the were pissed off about it. She sighed and tossed her backpack onto the recliner before looking at them with her arms crossed over her body.

"What?" She asked and her mother turned a glare on her.

"Where the hell is your sister?" She snapped. Of course this was about Polly, they wouldn't be able to control her now that she wasn't living in their house. Betty shrugged and blew out a breath as she looked at them and tried to keep her face from giving anything away.

"I don't know mom. She was here when I left to meet Jughead for our project. I assumed that she was already in bed when I got back because I didn't see her." She told them.

"Are you sure you didn't see her Betty? She left her phone here so we have no way of contacting her so any information you have could help." Her father said.

"I'm sure. When I came home I went straight to my room." She insisted. "I didn't see Polly."

"Fine Elizabeth. Go to your room." Her mother said. Betty snatched her bag from the chair and rolled her eyes as she spun toward the stairs and made her way up them to her room.

She was glad that Polly left and that they couldn't track her but she hoped that she was okay. Betty knew that she was better off away from their parents and she knew that Polly was smart so she wouldn't give them a way to track her easily and Betty hoped that she found somewhere safe to stay. She knew that Polly had probably gone west as she had always talked about moving to LA but she wasn't going to tell her parents that. She understood why Polly didn't want their parents to follow her because they both knew that if they found her then they would try to drag her back to this house so they could control what she did. Betty didn't see herself leaving Riverdale anytime soon, probably not even for college, but she knew that she wasn't going to stay in this house forever. Her parents would probably still try to control her because she wasn't going to be far away from them but she knew the way they worked and was confident that she could avoid their intrusions into her life if she had her own place.

She sighed as she shook the thoughts out of her mind and pulled out her homework to begin working on it, but she had only been sitting at her desk for a few minutes before her mother burst into her room without knocking. Betty jumped in her seat as she looked up at her with wide eyes, her mother looked enraged.

"You're a liar!" She shouted and Betty took a deep breath as she stared at her.

"What the hell are you talking about?" She asked. 

"I wanted to see when Polly left so I checked the camera we have installed in front of the house. Any idea what I saw Elizabeth?" She snapped and Betty blew out a breath. She'd forgotten about the stupid camera.

"She wanted to leave." She said knowing that she'd been caught in the lie.

"Oh and you thought you'd just help her huh? How convenient." She said and Betty rolled her eyes as she stood from her chair and glared at her mom.

"I wonder why she left." She said, the sarcasm plain in her voice. Her mother glared at her.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"This!" Betty shouted, losing patience with her mother. "You act like we've killed someone when we disagree with you, or when we do something that you don't like. Polly left because she was tired of all the insults you threw her way, she was tired of being your little puppet. You can't keep controlling the choices we make Mom!"

"I know what's best for you!" She said and Betty scoffed.

"It's not your decision to make! People make mistakes, that how they grow! You need to let us make mistakes instead of trying to make us perfect all the time. We're not dolls for you to play with, we're people who can make our own choices." Betty shouted before pushing past her mother and rushing down the stairs and flinging the door open.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Her mother snapped from behind her.

"Away from you!" She shouted before leaving the house, slamming the door roughly behind her. 

Betty took off down the sidewalk, her anger driving her further and further away from her house, until it cooled a little and she realized where her feet were taking her. The south side and Jughead. She took a deep breath to calm her mind as she continued her steps until she came upon his trailer and stepped into the driveway. His bike sat there, the chrome shining like a beacon and she blew out the breath that she had been holding. She stepped up onto the porch and knocked lightly at the door until she heard shuffling movements from inside. The door opened a few seconds later revealing Jughead with Jellybean in his arms and Betty smiled at him as he studied her for a moment.

"Are we working on the project today?" He asked and Betty shook her head.

"No, I just needed to get away from my parents for a while." Betty said, glancing into the trailer behind him. "Sorry if I'm bothering you."

"You're not." He said, stepping to the side to let her in. "I was just getting ready to take Jellybean for a walk in the park."

"Oh, I don't want to interrupt family time." She said and Jughead smiled at her.

"It's fine Betty. You can come with us if you want, I wouldn't mind the company." He said, placing a bag in the bottom of the stroller. "I mean Jellybean is great but she isn't much for conversation yet."

"Alright, if you insist." She said with a small laugh as he grinned at her before turning to the stroller once more and placing JB into it. He began pushing it and she held the door open for him before following him out the door. He paused on the porch to lock the door before they went on their way.

They were quite as Jughead pushed the stroller down the sidewalk and Betty padded along beside him, her eyes wondering around and observing the other people out and about, some bearing the symbol of the Southside Serpents, others not, but all peacefully coexisting. She found it almost refreshing that they didn't seem to care what other people around them were doing or wearing, everyone just seemed to be enjoying the warm day and the sun shining down. She was brought out of her musings when her eyes landed on Jughead again to see that he was looking at her.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what's going on at home? Why did you need to get away?" He asked and Betty sighed as she sucked her lip into her mouth and shrugged.

"Polly left and they're not happy about it." She explained. "They're even less happy that I helped her."

"Why are they upset?" He asked. "I mean, isn't Polly like twenty? They should be glad that she's finally leaving home."

"Yeah, but now they can't control her so...." Betty said. 

"Well for what it's worth, I think it's stupid that they're blaming you for helping her. It's not your fault if she wanted to leave." He said and Betty sighed as they stopped at a bench positioned near a pond.

"Yeah I know but everything is my fault nowadays it seems." She said as they sit. "They always need someone to blame and you can be damn sure it isn't going to be them."

"You know, if you ever need a place to go, just to get away from it all for a few days, you can always stay with me. There's not a lot of room but we could make it work." He said and Betty gave him a sad smile.

"Thanks Jug." She said softly and he nodded.

"That's what friends are for." He said and she laughed quietly. He smiled as he turned to take JB out of the stroller before he sat her on his lap and turned her to face the park so she could look at everything. Her face seemed to light up as she looked around in amazement and it made Betty smile as she watched her.

Jellybean was fascinated with everything in the park and her eyes kept moving from one thing to the next as she and Jughead made small talk, getting away from serious things for a while as they relaxed on the bench. A little while into their stay, Betty spotted some ducks making their way across the pond and scooped JB up off Jughead's lap and stepped closer to the pond so that she could see them. Betty held the baby close to her as she pointed out the animals and Jellybean smiled a wide gummy grin making Betty laugh.

"Look Jelly, ducks." She said in a soft voice. Jughead came up behind them to stand next to her as Jellybean kept her eyes on the ducks, seemingly fixated on them, and she glanced at him. Their eyes met over JB's head and he gave her a smile but she saw some emotion she couldn't identify slid through his eyes before he broke their gaze to run his hand over Jellybean's hair. She turned and when she saw him she reached out for him with grabby hands. 

Jughead took her out of Betty's arms and took her back to the bench where he gave her a teething cookie to munch on. Betty joined them moments later and he smiled lightly at her as he bounced JB on his lap and Betty adjusted the bow on her head that had fallen slightly askew. When she looked up Jughead was studying her with that same look in his eyes again and she raised an eyebrow at him seeming to bring him out of whatever he was thinking about.

"You're good with her, you know?" He said and Betty shrugged.

"I love babies." She said softly. "I've always known that I wanted a family, ever since I was a kid myself. Although, with the gene pool I've got, maybe it isn't such a good idea."

"Don't say that." He said softly and Betty looked at him fully. He had a pained look on his face as he stared at her. "Don't let your parents take that away from you. Don't let them have that kind of impact on your life. It's just genetics, you don't have to be like them and neither do your children. We're not our parents Betty, we're not our families."

"I know that Jug." She assured him. "It's just, sometimes I wish things were different, you know. I wish....I wish that they were better, that they actually cared."

"I get that. Believe me." He said.

They fell silent after that, both lost in thought. Betty always wondered about the what ifs. What if her parents were a little different? What if her mother wasn't so obsessed with perfection? What if she and Jughead had stayed friends when they were younger? Where would they be if things were different? Would they be happier, or better off, or would they have ended up here anyway? She knew that she needed to let go of those thoughts and feelings because it wouldn't change anything. This was their lives and nothing was going to change it. This was the course their lives took and dwelling on the what ifs was useless, it wasn't going to help or make their situations change, so she had to let it go and learn to live the life she was given.


	6. Chapter 6

When they got back from the park Jughead took Jellybean out of the stroller and made his way to the bedroom to put her down for a nap, leaving Betty in the living room by herself. He rocked Jellybean gently in his arms until her eyes slipped closed and then he placed her into the crib and tossed the blanket over her before leaving the room. When he came back into the living room Betty was sitting on the couch and she gave him a soft smile when she noticed him coming back. He moved to the couch to sit next to her and flipped on the TV. They were quiet as they sat together staring at the TV until Betty shifted next to him and her eyes landed on his face, distracting him as he glanced at her.

"So where is your Mom, really?" She asked, a curious look on her face before she held her hands up slightly. "Not that I want to pry or anything, I'm just wondering."

"She left." He told her honestly. If they were going to rebuild their friendship, he didn't want to start with lies.

"Left?" She questioned and he shrugged.

"Two days after Jellybean was born, I woke up and she was gone." He told her. "All she left was a note saying she couldn't do it."

"I don't think I could do that." Betty said quietly and their eyes met. "I couldn't carry a baby for nine months and then just leave without any regard for what would happen to them."

"She was never a very good mother." He said. "I don't even think she wanted me most of the time."

"Well, no offense, but I think she was stupid." Betty said, causing Jughead to laugh lightly in surprise as she looked at him. "I couldn't imagine not wanting you and Jellybean in my life, so something must be wrong with her."

Jughead stared at her for a moment trying to read her expression but she looked completely serious. He couldn't imagine why she'd want them in her life because he felt like he was such a burden but she didn't seem to mind that they lived in a run down trailer or that he barely had enough money to pay the bills and put food on the table. She seemed to genuinely like him and want to rekindle their friendship regardless of the life he had and he found that surprising. He was terrified that he'd do something to ruin it and drive her away and he was desperate not to. She had only been back in his life for a few days but he still didn't want to go back to it being just him and Jellybean. For some unknown reason he felt like Betty was supposed to be a part of their lives.

"What about your dad?" Betty asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"What?" He asked.

"Your dad." She said. "I know that you said that he was in jail but I guess I was wondering about his role in Jellybean's life."

"He got arrested a few weeks before she was born." Jughead explained and Betty raised an eyebrow.

"So, has he ever met her?" She asked and Jughead shook his head.

"I've never taken her." He said and Betty bit her lip like she wanted to say something about that but she didn't.

"What was he arrested for?" She asked and he could hear the caution in her voice as if she thought he was going to get angry.

"Possession and distribution of a controlled substance i.e. drug dealing." He said before he sighed and ran a hand over his face. "You know, when he first got arrested, I was so pissed at him but now that I've had to take care of Jellybean and pay for all of the things she needs, I kind of get it. I only have to provide for JB and myself, he had himself and three other mouths to feed. I don't _approve_ of the way he was making money but I understand _why_ he did what he did. It's fucking hard taking care of a family."

"Maybe..." Betty started before biting her lip and he looked at her.

"What?" He asked and she shrugged.

"I don't mean to overstep here but maybe you should go see your dad." She said. "Take Jellybean to meet him. Maybe get his side of the story."

"Maybe." He said quietly, his mind swirling with her suggestion. He meant what said, he had been pissed at his father but he understood now why he had chosen to deal drugs, he had been trying to take care of his family in any way that he could and to be fair, at least he hadn't left willingly like their piece of trash mother had. 

"When is he supposed to get out anyway?" Betty asked quietly. Jughead shrugged and looked at her.

"He's got a few more months." He said and she nodded.

"You know, if you wanted....I could go with you." She said looking at him with a cautious look on her face. "If you don't want to go see him alone."

"You don't have to do that." He said and she gave him a small smile as she shrugged her shoulders.

"I know but if you want me too, then I will." She said. "You're my friend, and I want to be there for you. _If_ you need me."

"I'll think about it." He told her and she nodded.

"Okay." She said before she leaned back into the couch and turned back to the TV, effectively ending the conversation and giving him time to think. He leaned back into the couch next to her and looked at the screen but he wasn't really watching what was on, too caught up in his own thoughts.

He hadn't seen his father in over seven months, too busy blaming him before Jellybean was born, then too caught up in taking care of her after that, that he hadn't even really thought about it. He had felt a little guilty about not taking Jellybean to meet him, but he hadn't wanted to disrupt her routine at first and then he had been afraid that it would upset her. Thinking about it now, that was probably stupid, it's not as if Jellybean would even realize or remember that she'd seen her father in jail.

He knew that Betty was right and he needed to hear his father's side of the story instead of just condemning him for doing something to take care of his family. From what Jughead knew, there was quite a bit of money in drug dealing, and he knew deep down that his father was just trying to make ends meet. Now that he'd spent six months attempting to make his check stretch as far as it would go, he understood how hard it was. 

He resolved to go and see his father, but he wasn't sure yet if he should ask Betty to come with him. She'd already seen some of the hardships that he was facing but he wasn't sure if he was ready for her to see the darkest part of his life. He didn't want to show her anything that might make her run for the hills because he felt like he needed her in his life. Of course looking at her, with her pressed clothes and perfect image, he would have expected her to run a long time ago. Maybe he should stop underestimating her.

When they were growing up together, before their circumstances pushed them apart, she'd always been the first one to help in any situation. She was the first of them to reach out and invite others into their games, and she had never been judgmental of anyone. He should have expected that she wouldn't care about his situation. She'd always been someone he admired, with her accepting nature, and he was glad that she hadn't lost that aspect of herself. She seemed ready to rebel against her parents, but he was glad that she still had parts of that little girl he used to know, the good parts in his opinion. 


	7. Chapter 7

Instead of going home after leaving Jughead's, Betty made her way to Veronica's house for a sleepover, hoping that when she returned home the next day that her mother would have cooled off a little. She hoped that Jughead would take her advise and go to see his father because she thought that he needed to get closure so that he could stop being angry about his father.

When she got to the Pembrooke, she was let into the Lodge's apartment by Veronica's mother, who led her back to Veronica's room before leaving them on their own. Veronica smiled up at Betty from where she was painting her toenails on the bed and Betty moved to sit on the chair in the corner of the room so she wouldn't jostle the precariously tilting bottle of polish and make it spill on the comforter. 

"So, have you been able to crack Jughead Jones yet?" Veronica asked and Betty looked at her.

"Cracked him?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and Veronica shrugged.

"I mean, he seems like the type of guy that isn't easy to get to know. He's a bit of a loner, just like Kev said at lunch the other day, I was just wondering if you guys were actually talking or if you worked on your project in complete silence." She said.

"It's not really a big deal, we talk while we're working, and even when we're not." Betty said with a small shrug. "We used to be friends, like I told you, and it's easy to fall back into that. I know that he isn't the same little boy that I used to hang out with but sometimes, when we're together, I can see that boy."

"Oh my god! You like him." Veronica said with a squeal and Betty rolled her eyes.

"It's not like that V, I just like being around him." Betty said. "When I'm around him, I don't have to pretend to be this perfect version of myself that everyone else sees. He doesn't look at me like he expects a certain thing, he just accepts me for what I am."

"Do you feel like you have to pretend around me and Archie?" Veronica asked seriously making Betty feel a little guilty. "Because you know that you don't have to. We love you, just as you are."

"I know V, it's just different with him. I feel like I could tell him anything and he wouldn't judge me for any of it." She explained. "When we were kids, all three of us hung out, and we were close but it was different with him then too. There's just something about him that's always made me feel....I don't know, safe I guess. No matter what was happening when we were younger, he was always the one I'd turn to, not Archie. I hate that I let my mother push us apart."

"Wow." Veronica said softly and Betty glanced up to see her looking at her with a soft expression. "That's like fated lovers kind of feelings."

"Stop." Betty said rolling her eyes and shoving Veronica's shoulder lightly. "It isn't like that. We're friends, or at least that's what I'm trying to get us back to."

"Sure." Veronica said, turning to put the cap back on the polish and sitting it on the bedside table. "But I'm placing my bets now, you're going to end up in his bed at some point."

"Veronica!" Betty exclaimed glancing at the door to make sure neither of her parents were hovering around as Veronica shrugged. 

"I'm just saying." She said holding her hands up in surrender. "It wouldn't be the end of the world if it ended up happening, I stand by what I said, he's nice to look at."

"Okay, I'm officially changing the subject." Betty announced giving Veronica a look. "How's the project coming along with you and Cheryl?"

"Ugh, don't even ask." Veronica said. "I swear, Satan spawned that girl and now regrets it, she's that bad."

"I'm sure it can't be that bad." Betty said, laughing at Veronica's dramatics.

"It is B." She insisted. "She wants us to cover the sixteen hundreds because she likes the outfits. I'm serious, she made an entire power point about it before she even came over to work on it, nevermind the fact that we're supposed to be covering _events_ and _not_ fashion.  She drives me crazy."

"Well, at least she took initiative." Betty tried and Veronica rolled her eyes.

"It's not initiative if it doesn't help Betty!" She exclaimed and Betty shrugged again.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." She said. Veronica sighed.

"Okay, I'm done talking about our project and partners because all it's doing is making me frustrated." She said, standing from the bed and grabbing Betty's wrist to pull her out of the room. "Let's make hot chocolate."

"It's like a hundred degrees outside." Betty protested.

"It's never too hot for hot chocolate Bettykins, besides we have air conditioning." She said and Betty just decided to go along with it, there was no changing Veronica's mind once she decided on something. 

"I know what will take our minds off of our schoolwork and partners." Betty said, hopping up to sit on the counter as Veronica moved around the kitchen grabbing things for the hot chocolate.

"What's that?" Veronica asked.

"Movie night." Betty said dramatically and Veronica laughed as she glanced at her with a shrug,

"You're totally right B, make some popcorn." She said. Betty sighed as she jumped back off of the counter and they moved around the kitchen easily avoiding one another as they set about their tasks. 

Betty made a bunch of popcorn and dumped it into a big bowl before adding extra butter to it and by the time she finished with that, Veronica had poured each of them a large mug of hot chocolate and had put marshmallows on top. The grabbed their items and made their way into the living room where they debated what tpo watch for a few minutes before settling on having a scary movie marathon.

They spent the rest of the night scaring the crap out of themselves before retreating to Veronica's room and tucking the blankets around them securely, each of them glancing around the room every couple of minutes, until they finally managed to calm themselves down enough to sleep. They laid in the dark for a while after that, breathing quietly and trying to fall asleep, before Veronica shifted to look at Betty.

"All jokes aside B, I'm glad that you and Jughead seem to be getting along. From what I know of him, he seems like a good guy." She said seriously and Betty nodded lightly.

"He is." She said.

Neither of them spoke again after that and soon Veronica's breathing became even lulling Betty to sleep as she listened to the rhythmic noise. Jughead and Jellybean featured heavily in her dreams that night, making her smile lightly.  


	8. Chapter 8

Jughead took a deep breath as he looked up at the building, standing high and foreboding in front of him, and forced himself to step inside with Jellybean clutched close to him. He had taken Betty's advice and come to see his father but he had decided to do it without her, He wasn't ready for her to see this part of his life just yet and when he'd spoken to her about it she had seemed to understand completely. That led him to where he was now, pushing through the doors to the jail currently housing his father, and he almost wanted to turn around a run but he forced himself to make his way to the desk where an officer was sitting.

"Um, hi." He started, gaining the attention of the officer. "I'm here to see Forsythe Jones." 

"You have ID?" The officer asked with a raised eyebrow. Jughead dug around in his pocket for his wallet, making sure to keep an arm around Jellybean, before finally producing the ID and handing it over. The officer glanced at it and began typing something into the computer in front of him before he slid the card back over to Jughead. He slipped it back into his wallet quickly and put it back in his pocket before readjusting his grip on Jellybean as the officer stood from his desk. "I'll need to search you before I let you in."

"Okay." Jughead said and the officer raised an eyebrow at him.

"You'll need to sit her down, kid." He said and Jughead looked at him.

"She can't sit up on her own yet." He told him and the officer sighed before motioning over another officer from behind the desk. Jughead reluctantly handed Jellybean to the officer and allowed himself to be searched as he kept a close eye on her. After he'd been searched the officer moved over to Jellybean and began taking her shoes off and Jughead looked at him confused.

"What are you doing?" He asked, taking her back from the second officer.

"We need to make sure that there isn't anything hidden on her as well." He said and Jughead had to refrain from rolling his eyes.

"Is that really nessacary?" He asked and the officer nodded.

"Absolutely." He said. 

Jughead held his tongue even though he wanted to tell them that they were stupid and he waited for them to be done checking everything. They handed him back her shoes when they finished and the officer who'd been sitting at the desk led him back to a room, hidden behind two sets of doors that had to be opened from the inside, the locks clanking back into place the moment it shut behind them and showed him a table to sit at. He looked around the room to see a few other people sitting at other tables and he assumed that they were waiting for inmates as well. He'd looked up the visiting hours before he'd come and he'd picked the time he hadn't expected many people to be here and it seemed that he was right.

He sighed as he sat Jellybean on the table and kept and arm around her as he slipped her shoes back onto her feet. Jughead had put her in a yellow sundress for this visit, though he wasn't sure why he even put the effort in, but he thought she looked cute anyway. He'd slipped a small bow onto her head to match and it stood out starkly against her dark hair so similar to his own. He played with her until he heard the doors open again, from the other side this time, and he glanced up to watch the inmates file out of it. When his father came out behind some of the others, their eyes caught immediately, and Jughead could see the genuine surprise on his fathers face before his eyes slid to Jellybean.

His father made his way over and sat down at the table across from them, where the chair was positioned, and an officer came over to snap his hands into the cuffs and chain that ran through a loop on the table. Jughead sighed as their eyes met once again and he took Jellybean off the table to place her in his lap facing their father so that he could see her.

"Jug." His father said in greeting. "I didn't expect you to visit."

"I didn't expect to come." He said softly and he saw his father flinch slightly. "But I've been talking to a friend and she convinced me to come....and I realized that, maybe, you had a reason for doing what you did."

"I never meant to be taken away from you guys Jug, I was just trying to take care of you." He said and Jughead sighed with a nod.

"I know dad, I get that now. Believe me." He said. His dad looked from him to Jellybean, now chewing on her own hand totally oblivious to their conversation, before he met his eyes again.

"Where's your mother?" He asked and Jughead shrugged.

"Fuck if I know." He said. "She left."

"She left?" He asked. "When?"

"Right after Jellybean was born. I've been the one taking care of her this whole time." Jughead said.

"What the hell was she thinking? She shouldn't have just left you to take care of a baby, this isn't your responsibility." His father said, sounding angrier than Jughead had seen him before. 

"I'm handling it." Jughead said and his father sighed as he ran his hands over his face, the chains attached to his wrist rattling as he moved.

"The point is, you shouldn't have to." He said and Jughead shrugged.

"I'd rather JB be with me instead of out there, wherever mom fucked off too. At least this way, I know she's safe and taken care of." Jughead said. His father seemed to study him fro a long moment before he looked at Jellybean again.

"Well, she does seem well taken care of Jug. You seem to be doing a good job of it." His father said before biting his lip. "Did you drop out of school or something?"

"No." Jughead said. "Thomas Topaz refused to let me. He watches her when I'm at school and I just take her to work with me at the Drive In when I have a shift."

"That's good." He said with a sigh. "I'm glad you're finishing school. I've screwed your life up enough without being the reason you didn't get a diploma as well."

"We're doing okay dad." Jughead said quietly, bouncing Jellybean on his leg. "You don't need to worry, I can handle this." 

"I know you can." He said quietly. "You always were better than either of us." 

"I don't think that's quite true dad." Jughead said.

"It is, boy. Accept it." He said.

They spent the rest of the visit talking about things far less serious and Jughead left the jail feeling much better about everything. He loved his dad a lot and he knew that the man was only doing what he had to do to take care of his family. Jughead was working through his anger about the arrest and accepted that sometimes people didn't make the best decisions when they were desperate. His father had been doing his best to take care of them and hadn't meant to get in so deep that he ended up with jail and Jughead could forgive him for making the wrong choice.

Compared to his mother, who had just left with no explanation or concern for either of them, his fathers reason for missing so much was more understandable. He'd done what he did for his family, while Jughead's mother had done what she had solely for herself. He agreed with Betty's sentiment on that, he wouldn't be able to walk away from a child he had a hand in making with no regard for them either, and he was starting to realize that he and Betty were maybe not so different after all.

He'd looked at her as the perfect girl next door for so long that he'd found himself stuck on that image of her, but after spending more time with her, he had begun to realize that she was a person just like everyone else. She had secrets and darkness in her that he felt a kinship with and he found her intriguing because he knew that she wasn't firmly either thing. She was the girl next door and she was a dark reflection of that all at once, and he thought that maybe they were the same in some ways.

He knew that looking at them from the outside, they didn't seem to share anything, they didn't fit together, but he had started to see a little of the girl she truly was without all the masks and he'd unconsciously began showing her those parts of himself too. They'd been friends as children before drifting apart, and when she had approached him about rekindling that relationship, he'd thought it would be hard but they'd seemed to fall back into the friendship as easy as breathing. He wasn't sure if the closeness he felt with her was a result of their shared past or if it was just that easy for them to open up to each other. She knew things about him that no one else did, like Jellybean and his father, and he thought that maybe he knew things about her too. He was sure that her friends didn't know just how bad it was for her at home and he felt privileged that she'd shared it with him.

She was the reason he'd given his father a chance in the first place, and he was glad that he had because he hadn't realized until today how much he had truly missed him, and he almost wanted to call her to tell her about the visit but he resolved to instead tell her the next time he saw her. It had been so long since he'd had a friend that he could talk to about his life and be one hundred percent honest without fear of judgement and he found himself thankful for the project that had brought her back into his life.


	9. Chapter 9

Betty was laying on her bed, having successfully avoided her mother's wrath, and she was going over the essay that she and Jughead had written together to make sure that it matched up with the things on their power point and everything seemed to be cohesive. The project was supposed to take longer than this to complete but she hadn't found anything that needed fixed so she finally accepted that they were finished. It relieved her that they'd already finished it because it meant that she could put it out of her mind until closer to the presentation. She was in the middle of putting the essay back in her bag when her phone rang with an unknown number. She looked at it for a moment in confusion before answering it.

"Hello?" She asked.

" _It's me Betty._ " Polly's voice came from the other end making Betty gasp and glance at the door as if her mother was going to appear and realize who she was talking to. She made her way to the door and flipped the lock before leaning against it.

"Where are you? Are you okay?" She asked.

_"I'm fine, I just wanted to call you so you'd have my new number."_ Polly said.

"Are you safe?" Betty asked and Polly laughed on the other end of the phone.

" _I'm safe Betty. I made it here to LA and found a roommate from an ad. She's pretty great and she even helped me by getting me an interview with her boss."_ Polly told her and Betty breathed out a sigh of relief.

"So what's the job?" Betty asked curiously.

_"Catering. It's not exactly what I want to be doing, but it's okay for now until I can start taking a few classes at college."_ Polly said. 

"You're planning to go to college? That's great Polly!" Betty said moving back to her bed and laying on her stomach as she talked. "What are you thinking of studying?"

_"I was thinking of going into early childhood education. I always liked kids, so I think it'd be a good career path for me."_ Polly said and Betty smiled.

"I think it would be good too, Pol." Betty told her.

_"So, what about you? What's going on in your life? I hope mom and dad aren't being too bad."_ Polly said, sounding a little guilty and Betty sighed.

"I'm fine Polly." She told her. "Mom found out that I helped you leave and she yelled at me for it but now she's just freezing me out, which isn't so bad."

_"I'm sorry, Betty. I didn't mean to get you in trouble."_ Polly said and Betty rolled her eyes even though her sister couldn't see her.

"It's not a big deal Polly. I _told_ you to leave, remember?" Betty said. "I can handle their anger. In other topics though, can I talk to you about something?"

_"Sure Betty, you know you can talk to me about anything."_ Polly said and Betty bit her lip.

"Well, you remember how I had that project with Jughead?" She asked.

" _Yeah. What about it?"_ Polly asked, the confusion clear in her voice.

"I found out something about him or about his family really, and I can't talk about it with anyone around here because I don't want to cause problems for him, but I need to talk to someone about it." Betty began.

_"Okay, I'm listening."_ Polly said. Betty took a deep breath and blew it out.

"Okay, so he has a baby." Betty started. "Well, it's not really his, she's his little sister but he's the one taking care of her."

_"Where are their parents?"_ Polly cut in.

"Their mom left after the baby was born, and his dad got arrested for selling drugs before she was born, so Jughead has been left alone to take care of her." Betty explained. "Anyway, he's really good with her."

_"Okay...so I understand the situation, but I'm still unclear about what this conversation is actually about."_ Polly said and Betty ran her hand through her hair as she chewed on her lip.

"Do you remember when we were kids? Jughead and I used to be best friends, along with Archie, until we all hit puberty and mom decided that girls and boys couldn't be just friends." Betty said.

_"Yeah, I remember. You were so angry that she wouldn't let you hang out with them but I told you to let it go because I knew what she was like. What about it?"_ Polly asked.

"Well, I told Jughead that I wanted to try and be friends again because I'm tired of mom controlling my life, and we've been hanging out." Betty told her. "I've seen the way he takes care of his sister, and I admire his strength in the face of everything his life has thrown at him. Veronica and I were talking the other day, and she said something about me liking him, and I think maybe she was right."

_"So what's the problem? Does he not like you back?"_ Polly asked.

"I don't know, Pol. I thought I could be friends with him, I _wanted_ to be friends with him, but these feelings kind of came out of nowhere and smacked me." Betty said in frustration. "Things are complicated. He has a baby to take care of, the last thing he needs is for me to make things awkward and screw up our friendship again."

_"Well, you said yourself that it's not really his baby, so he won't have her forever. His father will likely take over when he gets out."_ Polly said.

"I think that's unlikely, Pol. Even if he is the father, Jughead has had her since she was born, he isn't going to walk away so easily. In his eyes, she's his." Betty said.

_"Okay, then I think you need to take some time to think about how you'd feel taking care of a child for the rest of your life. If he feels the same as you, are you ready to take on that responsibility?"_ Polly asked seriously. _"Because you can't be in a relationship with him if you're not willing to take care of her. You have to understand that bringing people into her life is a serious thing, especially in a relationship aspect. Don't do this if you think you'll end up walking away, only do it if you're serious because that baby deserves for you to be serious. Dating someone with a kid is a big decision, especially at your age, so really think about it before you say anything to him Betty."_

"I get it Polly. I _will_ think about it." Betty said. "I wouldn't want to do anything that would affect JB negatively."

_"Good. That's smart."_ Polly said, as Betty heard something in the background.  _"I've got to go Betty, but I'll call you later."_

"Bye Polly, I love you. Thanks for the advice." Betty said.

_"I love you too, Betty. Call me anytime you need advice, or if you just want to talk. I'll be here."_   Polly said before hanging up. 

Betty sighed and save the number under a different name so that her parents wouldn't be able to link it to Polly if they happened to see it before dropping her phone on the bedside table and flipping onto her back to stare at the ceiling. She had told Veronica that she didn't like Jughead as more than a friend but she had known that she was lying to herself when she had. She had genuinely wanted to rekindle their friendship, but the more she hung out with him, the more she realized how much they'd both grown up.

She had obviously known that he'd grown up, just like they all had, and she'd seen him in passing since they grew apart, Riverdale wasn't that big of a town so avoiding him completely had been impossible, but she hadn't realized how much he had matured. She knew that his maturity was a product of his environment and she thought that maybe he'd never really gotten to be a kid like everyone else, but it had been a few years since she'd talked to him and now that she had it seemed like everything had changed.

Watching him take care of Jellybean, while also going to school and working, made her admire him and spending some time with him in the place he felt the most comfortable had revealed to her the kind of man that he was. He was so sweet and caring underneath that hardened exterior that he wore like armor around other people and he had showed that part of himself to her without hesitation, in a way trusting her not to hurt him, and she wanted to hold him and tell him that she wouldn't. That he could trust her with all of the dark parts of himself. She could see, when he looked at Jellybean, that he still had a bit of optimism in him despite everything that life had thrown at him and she wanted to nurture that and let him know that it was okay.

She knew that Polly was right, that she needed to think about Jellybean in all of this, and she was. The thing about it was, even though they hadn't been apart of each others lives again for very long, it felt like Jughead and Jellybean were already imbedded in her own life. She felt like they were supposed to be in her life and when she thought about them not being a part of her life, it felt wrong. Still, she didn't want to say something to screw up their friendship so she was going to keep her feelings to herself until she could get a better read on how Jughead felt. She hoped that everything would work out.


	10. Chapter 10

Jughead texted Betty to come over as he dug through the drawers to find a hat for Jellybean before shoving the phone in his pocket. He finally found a white sunhat at the bottom of the drawer and gripped it in his hand as he picked up Jellybean from the bed where she was chewing on the edge of the book he's been reading to her. He had heard from others that the teething stage was a nightmare but so far Jellybean didn't seem to bothered by it, the only thing he really noticed was that she slobbered much more now so most of his clothes had wet patches at the shoulders where she'd stick her face into him but he didn't mind it.

He took her to the kitchen and sat her in her bumbo seat while he slipped her shoes on her feet and sat the hat on her head before he began to apply sunscreen to her skin. Jellybean babbled as he moved around her but she was happy to sit up, supported by the seat, and watch him move around the room. He was sticking a few snacks into the diaper bag when he heard the knock, and knowing that it was probably Betty, he yelled for her to come in as he finished and zipped up the bag. He heard the door open and close quietly before Betty joined them in the kitchen.

"Hey." Betty said, moving to pick up Jellybean and sit her on her hip.

"Hey." Jughead said, giving her a smile. "I was wondering if you wanted to come to a carnival with us."

"A carnival?" Betty asked, glancing at him and Jughead grinned.

"Yeah. I saw a flyer for it and thought it would be fun to take Jellybean to." He said. "It's a few towns over in Centerville."

"I'd love to go." Betty said, smiling at him as she bounced Jellybean in her arms. "We can take my car."

"I was going to take the truck." Jughead said. "But it would probably be better to take the car."

"Alright, it's settled then." Betty said. "Do you need help getting anything?" 

"No it's fine, I've got everything I think. We can put the stroller in the trunk." Jughead said, looking around to double check that he'd packed everything. "If you could get Jellybean in her car seat while I do that, it would be great."

"No problem." Betty said and Jughead nodded as he grabbed the bags from the counter and the stroller from the corner of the room before making his way out the door with them. Betty slipped the keys into his hand as he passed before she moved to grab the car seat. It only took him a few seconds to get the trunk open and slip the stroller into it, thankful that Betty had a big trunk, before he made his way back into the house. Betty already had Jellybean snapped into the car seat and he allowed her to move past him as he grabbed the keys to the trailer off the table and locked the door.

Betty strapped Jellybean into the car easily before climbing into the driver's side and Jughead followed, getting into the car and handing her the keys back so she could start the car, then they were on their way. It was quiet in the car for the first few miles, the music playing softly from the radio providing a buffer to the silence, before Jughead looked at Betty with a sigh.

"So, I went to see my dad." He said softly and she glanced at him for a moment before focusing back on the road.

"How'd it go?" She asked.

"Better than I expected actually." He admitted. "You know, even though he did something illegal and it landed him in jail, he's still my dad. He still cares about us, which is more than I can say about my mother, so that's something. He made a mistake, I get that now."

"Are you going to see him again?" She asked and Jughead shrugged.

"Maybe." He said, biting his lip. "He gets out in a few months so we'll see."

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm proud of you for going. I know that it must have been hard." She said and Jughead shrugged again.

"You were right, you know." He said, looking at her. "It did help to go see him and talk to him about everything, so thank you, for telling me that I should."

"Of course, Jug." Betty smiled at him.

They spent the rest of the drive in relative silence, aside from Betty occasionally singing along to the radio and Jughead teasing her mercilessly for it, before they finally reached their destination a couple hours later. It took them a few minutes to find a parking spot in the crowded lot but eventually Betty squeezed the car into a spot and they climbed out. Jughead pulled out the stroller and unfolded it as Betty took Jellybean out of the car seat and slung the diaper bag over her shoulder before joining him at the back of the car. 

He took Jellybean from her and placed her into the stroller as Betty locked up the car before they began making their way to the entrance of the carnival. There were kids and families everywhere as they began their trek through the gates, and the smell of corn dogs and cotton candy floated on the air. Jughead watched as Jellybean stared around at all of the colorful booths with wide eyes and it made him smile. He knew that she couldn't understand any of it yet but she looked excited so he figured that it didn't really matter that much. Betty walked along beside him with her eyes flickering around, much like Jellybean herself, and Jughead laughed quietly bringing her attention to him.

"What?" She asked and he grinned at her.

"You look like a kid in a candy factory." He said and she rolled her eyes and shoved him lightly.

"I like the carnival. It's fun." She pouted and he shook his head.

"We haven't even done anything yet." He said and she shrugged.

"No, but I've been watching other people who are playing the games. Their reactions are great, especially when they lose." Betty said.

"Right, someone should tell them that the games are rigged." Jughead said, looking around at the booths surrounding them. Betty looked at him with a grin.

"Are you sure their rigged? Maybe you just suck." She said teasingly making him roll his eyes.

"Fine." He said. "You try to win one then."

"I will." She said before dragging him over to a booth. He parked Jellybean beside it as Betty handed the man behind the booth a dollar and received three darts. The booth had spinning platforms with balloons attached to them and the goal was to pop three of them with your darts. Jughead leaned against the edge of the booth and watched as Betty seemed to concentrate on the game, weighing the darts in her hand, before she grinned at him with a cocky expression. He raised an eyebrow at her and waved his hand, telling her to go for it.

He watched as the first dart made contact with a balloon and he moved away from the side of the booth to watch her. She threw the other two darts in quick succession, each of them hitting other balloons, leaving Jughead staring at her with wide eyes. She clapped and jumped up and down in place with a big grin on her face before pointing to a small stuffed dog when the booth operator asked what she wanted. Betty took the dog happily and spun around to face Jughead.

"I told you that you just sucked at games." She said.

"How did you do that?!" He exclaimed. "That's impossible."

"Obviously not." She said, the sass in her voice clear as she held out the dog to him with a smirk on her face. "Do you want the prize Juggie? I can win another one."

"No thanks." He said rolling his eyes, but the smile on his lips said he wasn't really irritated about it. Betty shrugged and spun to Jellybean.

"Fine, I'll give it to Jellybean." Betty said, kneeling down by the stroller and placing the dog in her hands. Jellybean stuffed it straight into her mouth, chewing on the dogs ear happily, and Betty smiled up at him. "I think she likes it."

"At this point she likes anything that she can chew on." He said as they moved away from the booth and Betty shrugged.

"I'm going to maintain that she likes me more right now." She said, grinning at him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, so you plan to bribe her for her love?" He asked and Betty nodded.

"That's the plan." She said. He laughed as they walked around the carnival.

They stopped at a few other booths, each of them playing a few games each, before they decided to get something to eat. They each got a corn dog and Betty got a small cup of ice cream which she shared with Jellybean, who seemed to love it, as they sat at a table and watched the other people mulling around. Jughead picked up Jellybean and knew right away that she needed changed so he began looking around for a place to change her.

"Something wrong?" Betty asked, finishing up her corn dog. Jughead shook his head.

"Just need to find somewhere to change Jellybean." He said and Betty glanced around.

"Can't you just take her to the bathroom?" She asked.

"They don't have changing tables in the men's restroom and I don't really want to lay her on the ground in a dirty public toilet." Jughead said and Betty looked at him.

"Seriously, no changing tables?" She asked. "What about all the single father's who need to change their babies? Not having changing tables is so stupid."

"That's just how things are." Jughead said, still looking for a place to change Jellybean. 

"I can take her." Betty said, making him look at her.

"Have you ever changed a diaper before?" He asked and she rolled her eyes.

"Of course. I used to babysit all the time." She said reaching for Jellybean and taking her out of his arms. "Seriously, it'll only take me a few minutes. There's always changing tables in the women's room so we don't have to put her on a dirty floor or search forever for somewhere to change her. In and out, we'll be right back."

She left the table with Jellybean in her arms and the diaper bag over her shoulder before he could even respond. He watched as she strode away from him and shrugged figuring that she could handle changing Jellybean on her own.

Seeing Betty with Jellybean made him smile, she seemed so at ease with her that if he didn't know, he'd think she was Betty's own child. He wondered if the people around them thought that they were just having a day out with their own child. As he thought about it, he realized that out didn't freak him out as much as he thought it would. Jellybean wasn't his daughter but he'd had her practically since she was born and it almost felt like she was. He had thought that the thought of anyone else being a pseudo parent for her would make him possessive or angry, but seeing Betty fill that role made him almost happy.

He and Betty had grown up together so he had known already that she was a very maternal and nurturing person but they way she took to Jellybean had surprised him. He had been afraid at first that she was going to tell someone about their situation and he'd lose Jellybean, but now he knew that she'd have never done that. She seemed almost like she wanted to help him. She hadn't judged him at all but instead she had begun to spend more time around him, and by extension Jellybean, and he found that he liked having another person around.

He knew that Betty was beautiful, as she had always been, but her kindness made him want to keep her around for as long as he could. He knew, by this point, that he liked her as more than a friend and that terrified him. If she didn't feel the same way he didn't want to drive her out of his life, but at the same time he almost wanted to tell her, to see what she felt about it. He'd never call himself a brave man but he thought that maybe telling her was worth the risk, especially if she returned his feelings.


	11. Chapter 11

They got back to the trailer as the sun was sinking below the clouds, making the sky light up in colors of red and orange, and Betty was yawning as she pulled into the driveway. It had been a fun day but also a long one so she was a little tired but regardless she followed Jughead into the trailer. They unloaded everything from the car before Jughead gently took Jellybean out of her car seat, where she had fallen asleep, to move her to the crib in the bedroom. Betty occupied herself by putting the leftover snacks away in the fridge until Jughead rejoined her in the kitchen.

"Can we talk?" He asked quietly and she glanced at him nervously.

"Um, sure." She said, following him to the couch. He seemed to be studying her, his face conflicted, so she reached out to take his hand. "Is something wrong?"

"No." He said, but his brows were furrowed and she bit her lip.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "Because, in my experience, no good conversation starts with any variation of the words  _we need to talk._ "

"It's not anything bad." He said, glancing up to meet her eyes. "I mean, I hope not."

"Okay." She said hesitantly as she studied his face. His eyes flickered over her face before dropping to their joined hands on her lap.

"I like you Betty, in a more than friends kind of way." He said without looking at her. "But..."

"But?" She asked, making him look at her and he seemed to take a deep breath.

"Jellybean needs consistency in her life and her happiness is more important to me that anything so...." He blew out a breath as their eyes met. "I need to know that you're in this with me, that you aren't going to just walk away."

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Betty said, touching his face lightly. "I like you Jug, and Jellybean is a part of your life. I get that you have to look out for her but I'm here. I'm not walking away, ever."

They stared at each other for a long moment before they seemed to move in unison, their lips meeting in a rush of heat, and Betty found herself pressed against him firmly as they kissed. She felt his arms around her waist, holding her tight, as he ran his tongue along her lips begging for entrance. She parted her lips slightly, allowing him in, and she made a soft sound in her throat. They kept kissing for a few minutes before Betty pulled away, a few kisses peppered on his face, before she stepped back from him. They both had smiles on their faces as they looked at each other.

"I gotta get home." Betty said softly, the regret leaking into her words. Jughead nodded.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow then?" He asked and she smiled.

"Of course." She told him before she started toward the door but he caught her arm and pulled her back for a hug.

"Thank you." He said softly and she pulled back to look at his face.

"For what?" She asked and her shrugged lightly.

"For saying you'll stay." He said, their eyes meeting. "For not leaving me. Everyone always leaves."

"I won't." She said, her heart breaking at the sadness in his voice. "I'll never leave, not unless you tell me to go."

"Then I guess you're going to be stuck with me." He said and she gave him a small smile. 

"I don't mind." She said, dropping another kiss on his lips. 

She pulled away from him again and made her way to the door, him letting her go this time, and she pulled it open to go outside before she turned back to him for a moment.

"Give Jellybean a kiss for me." She said and he nodded.

She finally left, closing the door behind her, as she made her way to her car and pulled out. She felt like she was leaving her heart in the trailer with the two people who had become so utterly important to her in such a short space of time.  Her lips were still tingling from the kiss and she almost wanted to turn around and go back, she wanted to stay with them in that trailer that felt more like home than her own house, but she knew that if she didn't come home then her mother would surely send out a search party. 

Betty got back to her own house quickly and she made her way upstairs before either of her parents could comment on how late it was already but she saw the looks they gave her when she closed the door. She closed the door to her own room quietly before making her way to the ensuite where she stripped her clothes off and climbed in to wash off the dirt from the day. Her skin was sticky in places from Jellybean touching her with sticky hands after she'd shared her ice cream with her but she didn't mind as it seemed the girl had a good time. 

When Betty thought about Jughead and Jellybean, it almost felt like they were family, and she thought that the presence of a baby was what helped it tip over into that so quickly. She and Jughead had grown up together so they already had a foundation for their relationship and even though they had grown apart in the last couple of years, it was easy to fall back into that relationship, but with Jellybean added into the mix it made the dynamics a bit different. Jughead was obviously filling to role of a father and Betty had, without really realizing it, fallen into the role of his partner. She knew that he did far more than she did because Jellybean was a part of his life all day everyday, as opposed to her seeing her only some of the time, but regardless of that she still felt like she played an almost parental role when she was with them.

She knew that the thought of having a family at her age should have sent her running for the hills but she honestly didn't mind it. She had always been more mature than people her age, due in part to the way her parents treated her and Polly, and the thought of maybe becoming a more permanent part of Jughead and Jellybean's life didn't scare her at all. She didn't want to run, she wanted to help, to be there for both of them as much as she could. 

After climbing out of the shower, Betty got dressed in a soft pajama set and moved to sit on her windowsill. Archie's light was still on across from her and she could see him sitting at his desk, seemingly working on something and, as if he could feel her gaze, he glanced up. Their eyes met and she gave him a small smile as he stood from the desk and moved to his own window so that they were directly across from one another as he grabbed his phone off the desk.

  _Are you okay?_

_I'm okay Arch, just a lot on my mind._

_Anything I can help with?_

Betty bit her lip as she thought. She knew that she couldn't tell Archie about Jellybean, but he was her best friend and she thought that maybe he could help without knowing the whole story.

_Can I tell you something? Will you promise not to tell anyone?_

_You know you can talk to me about anything Betty._

_Jughead and I kissed._

She could see his surprised reaction from where she was sitting as he looked up at her with wide eyes before he began tapping on his phone again.

_Okay, we're going to talk about exactly how that happened later but I have a feeling that that isn't what the conversation is about._

_I like him a lot Arch._

_But?_

_Nothing, it's just that my parents wouldn't like it, especially my mother._

_Who cares what they think? Certainly not you, you're still friends with me after all._

_Yeah, but you and I aren't dating so it's a little different. I don't want them to ruin this, you know how they are._

_Look, this may not be the best advice but if it's really that bad then leave. You don't have to deal with it, you're old enough to make your own decisions._

_Where would I go Archie? I don't have a job, it's not like I could afford an apartment._

_You can stay with me, or Veronica, you know that we're here for you. Plus Pop's is hiring, I'm sure if you talked to him you could get a job. You don't have to stay with toxic people, you have options and we don't care who you date._

_I don't know Arch. I'll think about it._

_Just let me know, you know you're always welcome here._

_Thanks._

Betty put her phone down after that, waving at Archie before turning her lights out and making her way to the bed. She was tired from the day of activities, so she went out like a light the moment her head hit the pillow. She could think about everything tomorrow.


	12. Chapter 12

The day after the carnival Jughead woke up and knew immediately that he wouldn't be going to school. Jellybean was fussy and burning up with fever, so he gave her some baby Tylenol and paced back and forth in the living room, bouncing her lightly. He wrote a quick text to Toni to let her know that he wouldn't be bringing Jellybean by today knowing that she'd pass the message along to her grandfather. Jughead thought about taking her to the clinic but he knew that they couldn't give her anything and he didn't want to wait for her to be seen again just to be told the same information.

The morning passed slowly, with Jellybean napping intermittently, allowing Jughead to clean up a few things around the house until she began crying again. She had a hard time taking a bottle because of her stuffy nose so he fed her smashed up bananas when she got hungry. When morning rolled into afternoon Jellybean decided that she didn't want to be sat down, screaming when he tried after she'd fallen asleep, forcing Jughead to lay on the couch with her on his chest. Her breath came in puffs as she fell asleep effectively making sure that he couldn't move so he reached for the remote cautiously and flipped on the TV.

It was mid afternoon when his phone began ringing and he answered it quickly without even looking, hoping that the sound wouldn't wake Jellybean.

 _"Jug, is everything okay?"_ Betty's voice came from the other end and Jughead glanced at the clock.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" He asked.

 _"Shouldn't you?"_ She asked, the sarcasm in her voice making him smile.  _"Is everything alright? You aren't here."_

"I woke up this morning and JB wasn't well so I figured I'd stay at home with her instead of taking her to the babysitter." He explained. "I think she's got a bit of a cold."

 _"I'll come over after school. I can make you some soup."_ She said.

"You don't have to do that. I'm not the one who's sick." He said and he heard her scoff over the phone.

 _"You will be, I guarantee it. Besides, I can make some broth for JB as well. She's old enough for it."_ She said and he smiled even though she couldn't see it.

"Okay. I'll see you then." He said.

 _"I gotta get back to class before they come looking for me."_ She said softly.  _"I'll see you later."_

The phone clicked on the other side letting him know that she'd hung up so he tossed his phone back on the coffee table and focused back on the screen of the TV, but he wasn't really watching it, his mind caught up with thoughts of Betty. He never expected her to come back into his life and know that she had he was thankful for it. She embraced him and Jellybean with an open heart, no judgement in her eyes at all, and she'd agreed to stay.

When his mother had left, it took him a little while to accept that he was truly alone, and he hadn't expected that to ever change. He'd known that his father would be released from prison at some point but he hadn't truly expected him to care about them all that much. He had thought that he'd be alone with Jellybean for the rest of his life, that he'd have to carry the burden alone and try to give her the best life that he could, but now he thought that maybe that was wrong.

He could see that Betty cared about him and about Jellybean and when she assured him that she wouldn't leave, he believed her. He knew that their relationship was unconventional for someone their age but he knew that she didn't care about that. She cared about them without having a ulterior motive and he knew that she wasn't going to abandon them. She was everything he ever wanted, when they were young he used to fantasize about their lives and marriage, but she'd been infatuated with Archie and hadn't really noticed the small boy tagging along behind him. They had been friends but he knew that she hadn't truly seen him as a romantic option back then. They were older now though and he knew that things had changed.

They weren't in love, he knew that, but he also knew that they would get there eventually. He liked her and by some miracle she liked him back, she even loved his little sister, and now that they were older, their relationship seemed plausible. When they were younger he would never have seen them ending up here, despite his fantasies, but now it seemed like it was inevitable. From the moment she'd shown up at his doorstep, hoping to work on a project, everything had changed and shifted before falling into place. She had been kind to him about his situation and she had willingly taken a place in their lives. It felt to him like she was always meant to be there, like this is what their lives were supposed to be. It felt like fate brought them together in that moment and had been keeping them together since.

Jughead was brought out of his thoughts by a knock at the door and a glance at the clock let him know that Betty was still in school leaving him confused. He stood up, the motion waking Jellybean who let out a disgruntled noise, before making his way to the door. When he opened it, he became more confused, because it actually was Betty and she smiled up at him before stepping in the door.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, closing the door behind her as she made her way into the kitchen.

"I said I'd come over." She said and he raised an eyebrow.

"I specifically remember that you said you come over after school. School isn't over yet." He said and she shrugged as she unloaded the bags she'd brought with her.

"I ditched early." She said and he sighed.

"You shouldn't have done that. We're fine." He said. She gave him an unimpressed look.

"I'm sure missing the last few hours of today isn't really going to affect my schooling." She said as she began to cut up some vegetables and put them into a pan. Jughead sat at the table with Jellybean still in his arms and watched her moved around the room as the smell of the soup began wafting around the room. After she seemed satisfied with it for the moment she spun and lifted Jellybean out of his arms and sat her on the table in front of her as she took a seat.

Betty began talking to her in a soft voice, running her hand through Jellybean's hair, before placing a kiss on each of her cheeks. Jellybean was watching Betty's face with a gummy smile on her face causing Jughead to smile as well.

"I haven't been able to get her to stop fussing all day accept when she was asleep. You're here for a few minutes and she's already smiling." He said and Betty laughed.

"I told you she liked me better." She said. 

"You may be right." He said. "But you know, you really didn't have to leave school early, we would have been fine."

"I know." She said softly, looking at him. "But I wanted to be here, with the two of you. It's really not a big deal Jug, we graduate in a couple of months and I've got a good enough GPA that missing a little isn't going to matter all that much."

"What about college?" He asked and she shrugged and bit her lip.

"I don't know about college. I mean, missing a few hours isn't going to affect me getting in if that's what you're worried about, but I'm not sure I'm going. At least not right away." She said and he looked at her.

"Why not?" He asked. Betty sighed and looked at him.

"You know that my parents were angry when Polly left, but didn't you wonder why she hadn't left for college already? She was old enough." She said.

"Why didn't she go to college?" He asked, as it seemed she wanted him to.

"When Polly was a senior, she was dating Jason Blossom and they had a pregnancy scare. She wasn't actually pregnant obviously but my parents found out and after they had it confirmed by a doctor, they made them break up and they wouldn't let Polly leave the house apart from school for months. Polly had been so ready to get out, she was waiting every day for letters from the colleges she'd applied to, hoping for one far away from Riverdale to accept her. When none came in, rejection or acceptance, Polly contacted the schools herself and we found out why. My parents had contacted each school she had applied to, saying that they were her, and withdrew her applications." Betty said and he stated at her in astonishment.

"Why?" He asked. Betty sighed and shook her head.

"When Polly confronted them about it my mother told her that she obviously wasn't ready to make those kinds of decisions about her life, given the pregnancy scare, so they had to make them for her." Betty bit her lip. "They said that she could reapply in a year, but before that year was over Polly had given up on ever leaving Riverdale or our parents, until a few weeks ago when I told her to leave."

"Do you know where she is?" He asked and Betty nodded.

"She called me. She's in LA, she's doing well." Betty said with a smile as she looked at him. "She's finally going to college because our parents can't stop her. She wants to be a teacher."

"That's good for her." He said before biting his lip and placing his hand over hers. "But you know, you could go too. You don't have to let your parents take that away from you either."

"I know." She said softly, looking at him. "But I wouldn't want to be away from the two of you."

"I know that I asked you to stay, but I don't want to hold you back." Jughead said, earnestly. "If you want to go, then do it."

"It's okay Jug. You aren't holding me back." She said. "You and Jellybean aren't the only reason I'm not going. I was going to take a year off anyway to save some money before going. With the two of you in the mix, it only means that I'll look for colleges that I can attend online instead of in person, but whatever happens I'm not leaving."

"Okay." Jughead said before he leaned over to kiss her lightly. When he pulled back they were both smiling and Betty stood from the table, positioning Jellybean on her hip, before turning to stir the soup. The smell of it had now enveloped the room and Jughead realized how hungry he was as she put the soup into bowls. Jughead helped her sit them on the table as she flipped the stove off and put a lid on the pan to keep the heat inside before joining him. Betty put Jellybean in the high chair next to her and cooled the broth from her bowl before feeding it to her, causing Jellybean's nose to run. Betty had to keep cleaning her face as she feed her but at the end of it Jellybean seemed much happier than she had been that morning.

They ate quietly before moving to the living room to watch some more TV, which Jughead grew bored of quickly, instead choosing to watch Jellybean and Betty in the corner of the room, also seeming to ignore the TV, as Betty read books to Jellybean who watched her intently. Jellybean was chewing on the dog that Betty had won her the day before but the slobber didn't seem to bother either of them. 

Looking at them brought his childhood fantasies back. He knew that from the outside looking in, they looked like a happy family, and he wanted that to be a reality more than anything. In his childhood fantasies they had always ended up here, with children running around them, but in those they had been married and happy. He never could have imagined this scenario when he was younger, but somehow that didn't matter, they were here due to circumstances that neither of them could have foreseen. I wasn't what he expected growing up but despite it all, he wanted to hold on to it. Their little pseudo family meant everything to him.


	13. Chapter 13

Betty woke with a start, the sun shining through the window startling her for a moment, until she realized where she was and sat up quickly. Jughead shuffled around on the bed behind her but didn't wake as she glanced around the room trying to gather her thoughts. She remembered the night before, she had brought Jellybean into the bedroom to put her into her crib and she and Jughead had been talking quietly and must have fallen asleep at some point. Betty took a deep breath and slipped off the bed to look for her phone, which she quickly found in the living room on the coffee table and when she flipped it on she almost regretted even looking at it. She had over thirty missed calls from her mother and she knew that the moment she went home all hell would break lose, not to mention that it was already ten in the morning meaning she and Jughead had missed school because she was certain that they weren't going in now.

She blew out a breath and moved back to the bedroom, where Jellybean was staring up at her from the crib, and she took her out and laid her on the bed easily and changed her before she shook Jughead's shoulder to wake him. It took a moment for him to wake up but eventually his eyes flicked open and he saw her with jellybean in her arms. He stared at them for a moment, a small smile crossing his face, before his eyes went wide and he sat up suddenly and she knew he realized that she wasn't supposed to still be here. He stared at her for a long minute before he cleared his throat and rubbed a hand over his face.

"You're still here." He said, his voice rough with sleep and she nodded.

"I'm still here." She said. "We must have fallen asleep last night."

"You gonna go home?" He asked cautiously. She shrugged as she handed Jellybean over to him.

"I can't avoid it forever." She said and started to stand from the bed again but he caught her wrist bringing her attention back to him.

"You can stay with me." He said seriously. "If you go home and they react badly, you can stay here for as long as you need."

"Are you sure?" She asked him, studying his face.

"Absolutely." He said. "You're already practically part of the family, why not make it official."

"Are you asking me to move in with you?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Look, we both know that the moment you go home, your parents aren't going to react well." He said, meeting her eyes. "I'm saying that you have a place to go. I'm saying that you can leave just like Polly did. I know that this isn't as far away as she went but it's something. It's a place where they can't control you anymore."

"Okay." She said softly.

"Okay?" He asked and she smiled softly.

"I'll be back." She assured him. "I'll get a few things from the house and then I'll be home."

"Home." He said, a soft smile on his face. "I like the sound of that."

She kissed him softly and dropped a kiss on Jellybean's cheek before standing from the bed. He squeezed her hand in his before letting her go and she left the trailer quickly comforted by knowing that she was coming back soon. She started her car and pulled out of the driveway, starting toward the north side of town. She used the drive to her house to clear her mind and steel herself against the onslaught that was inevitable.

She knew that her mother would be pissed that she'd been out all night, and that her father wouldn't say anything to her defense. He never usually said anything bad about either of them but he let their mother say horrible things which was almost worse. Now that Betty had spent time with Jughead and Jellybean, she couldn't imagine ever speaking to a child of hers the way her mother spoke to her and Polly, and she realized that her mother didn't really care about them at all. It had taken her a while to realize it but now she knew that all her mother cared about was her image and she projected that onto her daughters because god forbid they not be perfect. It might make her look bad if her daughters were flawed.

Betty understood that Polly's sudden flight from home had pissed her mother off not only because it meant that she couldn't control her anymore but also because it shattered the illusion of the Cooper's being a perfect family, which is what her mother hated so much. As she pulled into the driveway she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath before she moved toward the door and stepped into the house. Her parents were sitting in the living room, obviously having stayed home from work, and their eyes snapped to her as soon as the door clicked closed behind her.

"Where the hell have you been?" Her mother snapped, on her feet immediately, the paper she had been reading tossed haphazardly onto the table.

"I lost track of time working on the project with Jughead. We fell asleep." She said, the lie sliding of her tongue easily.

"You really expect me to believe that?" Her mother rolled her eyes. "You're just like your sister."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Betty snapped, her patience was already worn thin and she hadn't even been here for ten minutes.

"You're both sluts!" Her mother shouted. "Staying out at all hours with a boy. You'll be the next one with a baby on your hip."

"Polly wasn't a slut!" Betty shouted back. "She had sex with her boyfriend, that's not a fucking crime. Just because you disapprove doesn't make it bad. She was a teenager and you made her feel like shit. That's why she left, she couldn't stand you. Either of you."

"Don't you turn this on us. You are the disappointment here!" Her father said and Betty sighed, knowing that he was only backing up her mother, that he'd never speak up for her.

"Why? Why am I a disappointment? Because I'm not a little girl anymore? Because you can't control me and make me a perfect little puppet?" Betty asked, staring at them. Her father looked away from her and her mother only seemed to get angrier at her words. She sighed and shook her head. "It guess it doesn't matter anymore. I'm leaving."

She spun toward the stairs and ran up them to her room and dug a dufflebag out of her closet and began tossing clothes into it from her drawers. When that was full, she grabbed another bag and pulled the clothes off the hangers in her closet and stuffed them in it. She sat each of them by the door and grabbed a small box from the closet and pulled her pictures off the mirror and packed all of her makeup into it before grabbing her diary. She took one last look at the room before grabbing everything in her hands and leaving. As she got to the bottom of the stairs she saw her parents staring at her, her mother had her arms crossed over her chest. 

"You're not leaving." She said and Betty rolled her eyes.

"You gonna stop me?" She asked.

"You're in high school, you can;t just leave because you want to. That isn't how things work in the real world." She said and Betty sighed.

"I'm eighteen mom. Legally old enough to decide for myself where I live or maybe you want me to call the sheriff and tell him that you refuse to let me leave, see what he has to say about it?" She raised an eyebrow. "You know how this town loves to gossip."

They stared at each other for a long time and Betty refused to budge until finally her mother stepped away from the door with a huff and Betty dragged her bags through it and out to her car, which was thankfully in her name and not her parents, throwing the bags into it quickly before she pulled out again. Her parents were standing in front of the house, staring at her as she left but Betty didn't pay them any attention as she left quickly.

She got back to the trailer in record time, where she found Jughead had already fixed something for breakfast, and he helped her bring her things inside before they sat down to eat. It was quiet as they finished breakfast until Betty blew out a breath and looked at him.

"I'm gonna talk to pop's tomorrow about picking up some shifts at the diner." She said. "You can pick Jellybean up after school and take her to the drive in with you and I can pick her up from there after I get off and bring her home for bed so she doesn't have to sleep there."

"Sounds good." He said before taking her hand in his and drawing her eyes up to his. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." She assured him. "They're my parents but they don't actually care about me, not like they're supposed to. Getting away from them is a good thing."

"Good." He said softly. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you're here."

"Me too." She said, smiling at him. "There's no where else I'd rather be." 


	14. Chapter 14

In the month that Betty had moved in permanently, they had worked out a routine between working, school and taking care of Jellybean. Betty moving out of her parents house and into Jughead's had caused a minor stir in the town gossip mill with everyone assuming that she was pregnant but nether of them commented on it and upon receiving no response, it had died down slightly but they still got looks. No one had figured out about Jellybean so neither of them gave it too much thought, too worried about other things to waste energy on it.

They had to pool their money to buy clothes for Jellybean, who grew so quickly that they had to buy two sizes just in case, while also trying to keep the lights on. It was easier with both of them working but they were still pinching pennies by the end of the month. It worked for now until they could graduate high school and take more hours at their respective jobs but it was still stressful. On the other hand, Jellybean seemed ecstatic to have both of them around instead of just Jughead. She loved Betty, always smiling when she saw her, and recently she had started reaching for her if she saw her. Jughead had thought that it would make him jealous but every time it happened he just smiled.

He had been thinking about them recently as family and he realized that was what it felt like. He knew that Jellybean was his little sister biologically and was nothing to Betty, but he had raised her since she was a few days old and Betty had been helping out for months so it felt like they were a family of their own. It was hard and at times they'd argue or get on each others nerves, sharing a space as small as the trailer with someone could get difficult, but they always came back together to talk about it when they'd had time to calm down. When he looked at her his heart started beating a little faster and he knew how he felt about her by now. He loved her and he loved their family, as unconventional as it was, and he wouldn't trade it for anything.

"Do you want me to come with you today?" She asked, bringing him out of his thoughts as he looked at her feeding Jellybean in her high chair.

"Do you want to come?" He asked, meeting her eyes. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"It's okay Jug. I want to be there for you and I'll have to meet him at some point." She said with a shrug.

"If you're sure." He said hesitantly and she smiled at him before leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

"I'm sure." She answered before scraping the last bit of food out of the jar and wiping Jellybean's face with her bib. Jughead had decided to go see his father again, knowing that the man wanted to make amends for the mistake he had made, and he also wanted to ask him a few things. He hadn't asked Betty to come, just informed her that he intended to go, allowing her to make the choice on her own. She had been looking after Jellybean with him and he knew that it might be awkward for her to meet the father of the child he knew she already considered theirs but he'd known in the back of his mind that she'd want to accompany them anyway.

They didn't say much more than that for the rest of the morning, finishing their breakfast quickly before getting Jellybean dressed and packing her diaper bag, and then they were on their way. The car ride to the prison was filled with the sound of the radio playing and Jellybean giggling in her car seat until they got their and hour and a half later. He saw Betty glancing at the fences and the razor wire atop them when she climbed out of the car to get Jellybean from the back and he touched her arm lightly before they steeped into the building. She gave him a small, reassuring smile as they stepped toward the desk to sign in. 

The same guard that had checked him in last time was there and Jughead saw him glance curiously and Betty before he began to search them. He searched Jellybean's car seat as well before letting them through. The loud sound of the doors banging shut behind them made Betty jump, so he placed his hand on her back lightly to comfort her as they were lead into the same room again, with the tables arranged around it, and he lead her to one in the corner. She lifted the car seat and sat it on the table before taking Jellybean out of it and placing it out of the way on the floor next to her feet. He noticed her straightening Jellybean's clothes and sensed her nervousness so he took her hand, gaining her attention easily, and he gave her a smile.

"It's okay Betty. It's just my dad." He said softly and she blew out a breath while nodding.

"I know Jug, but what if he doesn't like me?" She asked. "I've been looking after his daughter. What if he doesn't like me and tells me he doesn't want me around her?"

"He won't do that, Betty." He assured her. "He's not a bad guy despite being in prison. He's not going to tell you that, he'll be thankful that I have some help. Trust me."

"I do." She said.

The doors opened that moment to let the prisoners into the room. They trickled in slowly until he saw his father who glanced around before his eyes landed on them and he made his way over. The guard ran a chain through the loop on the table, attaching the cuffs to his wrists, just like he had the last time he'd come before stepping away and giving them the chance to talk. The table descended into silence for a moment before Jughead cleared his throat.

"Dad, this is Betty Cooper. Betts, my dad." He said, gesturing between them. Betty glanced at him for a moment before plastering a smile on her face.

"It's good to meet you Mr. Jones." She said. His father glanced at her, with Jellybean in her lap, before giving her a small smile.

"Good to meet you too, Betty." He said before looking at Jughead. "I didn't know if you would come back."

"Well, here I am." He said softly before sighing. "Anyway, how are you doing?"

"As good as can be expected." He said. "How are you? How's Jellybean?"

"I'm good. Still in school, got a job at the drive in." Jughead said with a shrug before glancing at Jellybean. "JB's got a new tooth. She's been chewing on everything lately, I even caught her chewing on Betty's shoe the other day."

"I hope you took it from her." Betty said from his side with a grin. "I wouldn't want her to get sick."

"Don't worry, I did." He said, an answering smile coming to his lips.

"So you've been helping him with her then?" His dad said, bringing their attention to him as he glanced between them, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Um, yeah." Betty said hesitantly. "She's great."

"Betty lives with us." Jughead said, figuring he should get it out of the way.

"How's your mother feel about that?" FP asked. "I know Alice Cooper isn't exactly the type top let her teenage daughter shack up with a guy."

"You know my mother?" Betty asked suddenly and FP rolled his eyes.

"Everyone in town knows your mother. She tends to have an impact on people, especially when she drags all their dirty laundry into the paper." He said quietly. "No offense to you of course, I know it has nothing to do with you."

"None taken." Betty said quietly. "She's actually the reason I live with Jughead. I couldn't stay it that house with her anymore."

"Understandable." He said. "Anyway, thank you. For helping Jug."

"Of course." She said, turning to smile at him. "Couldn't imagine life without him, or Jellybean."

"Me either." Jughead said. His father was glancing between them again, so Jughead cleared his throat and reached down into the diaper bag for the envelope they'd gotten from Attorney McCoy just the other day, leaning on the confidentially clause to inform her of the situation they'd found themselves in with Jellybean, and sat it on the table."Anyway dad, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What's this Jug?" He asked and Betty laid her hand on his leg under the table, encouraging him to continue.

"Look, as it stands, you're going to be in jail for a while longer and I don't want anything to happen with Jellybean in that time." Jughead said, pulling the papers out of the envelope and sliding them across to him under the watchful eye of the guard. "I want you to sign these papers giving me temporary custody of Jellybean until you get out and we can fix it. I just don't want something to come up before then where she could be taken away from me. I don't want to worry about social services coming in to take her."

His father picked up the papers and read through them, not uttering a word as his eyes flicked over the words, before he sighed and sat them back down on the table. He ran his hands over his face, making the chain rattle against the table, before he looked up at them with sadness in his eyes.

"I guess it makes sense to do this." He said softly, shaking his head. "I never wanted to put this burden on you Jug. I'm sorry for screwing everything up, if that's worth anything to you at all."

"I know dad." He said as he slid the pen over. His father picked it up and signed it quickly in the places that were marked before sliding it back over. Jughead tucked the papers and pen back into the envelope and put them back into the diaper bag before placing his hands on the table.

"Can I hold her?" FP asked, motioning to Jellybean. Betty glanced at him for a moment before she stood and reached Jellybean across the table. His father sat her on the edge of the table, taking her small hands in his as he smiled at her, and Jellybean returned the smile. She had always been a happy kid so it didn't take much for her to start giggling as his father played with her. Betty placed his hand on his making him glance at her.

"You okay?" She asked quietly, his father distracted with Jellybean and not paying them any mind. 

"I'm fine." He assured her. "Glad he signed the papers. One less thing for us to worry about."

"Yeah." She said softly.

They went back to watching Jellybean and FP. The rest of the visit was spent with them talking quietly in between playing games to keep Jellybean entertained until near the end of the visit Betty took Jellybean to the bathroom located in the other corner of the room and his father looked at him seriously.

"You love her?" He asked and Jughead shrugged.

"Yeah." He said and his father nodded.

"I could see it in your eyes when you looked at her." He said softly before glancing at the bathroom. "Tell her."

"I plan to." Jughead said and FP met his eyes.

"Good." He said. "She's good for you, I can tell. She makes you smile without even trying, she makes you happy, I can tell. She understands you and you understand her, I've seen it in the short time you guys were here. You complete each other. That kind of love doesn't come around all the time Jug, hold onto it."

"I will." Jughead assured him. "She's everything I've ever wanted and I don't plan on letting her go."


	15. Chapter 15

Betty was relieved after their trip to the prison to see Jughead's father becasue now it meant that they could be a little more relaxed. They'd both been terrified of her mother finding out about Jellybean and causing problems but so far she hadn't and now, with the papers handed back to Attorney McCoy and filed with the city, Jughead had custody of Jellybean officially. She knew that the custody papers were only for temporary custody but she also knew that when FP was released from prison, that Jughead had plans to pursue full custody via his father's permission. Their mother had signed her rights away when she left, leaving the only one with legal rights being FP, until he'd signed the papers.

She knew that Jughead wasn't planning on kicking his father out of Jellybean's life he just wanted her to legally be his because that's what she felt like. Betty hadn't questioned him on her role in Jellybean's life outright but she knew that he saw her as a parent to the little girl as well so it didn't matter about what was in the paperwork at the moment. They were family and a piece of paper wasn't going to change that or make it more official so she wasn't too worried about it because it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

She got up early the next day, a sunday, to make pancakes. She wanted to do something special for Jughead, knowing that seeing his father in chains took a toll on him, and she hoped that it would cheer him up. She knew that he loved pancakes so there was no better way to do it. Jellybean was babbling happily in her highchair, banging her toy against the tray, while Betty alternated between watching the food cook and playing peek-a-boo with her. The stack of pancakes on the plate next to her steadily growing until she finally heard movement down the hallway. 

She heard him in the bathroom brushing his teeth before he finally joined them in the kitchen, dropping a kiss on her lips before moving to grab Jellybean and spin her around lightly, before he sat down and placed her on his lap. They were the picture of an all american family, except she was sure in other peoples versions they were a few years older and living in a house with a white picket fence, but she had had enough of white picket fences and the lies they could tell. She was perfectly happy with the way things were. She sat the syrup on the table before sitting the plate stacked full in the center and scooping Jellybean out of Jughead's arms and back into her high chair before cutting a pancake in little pieces and spreading them on her tray.

Since she had started teething they had started giving her more solid foods and she happily grabbed them and fed them to herself making meal time a tad more messy but neither of them minded. They tucked into breakfast, each eating quietly until Betty glanced at him and Jughead raised an eyebrow.

"Plans today?" She asked.

"Nope." He shrugged. "You?"

"No." She said and he glanced at her.

"No plans with Veronica or Archie?" He asked and she shook her head.

"V and I went to get mani pedi's last weekend and Arch and I spent the day working on his car with his dad before I met up with her." Betty shrugged. "They said something about going to Greendale this weekend for some shopping." 

"I'm sure Archie is thrilled about that." He said with a grin and Betty laughed softly.

"I'm sure." She said before studying him for a moment. "He'd be open to hanging out with you, you know. You two were friends when we were kids too."

"I don't know Betty." He said quietly, glancing at Jellybean. "I wouldn't want to lie to him."

"You could tell him." She said making his eyes snap to her. "He wouldn't judge and I know he wouldn't say anything if you asked him not to."

"I don't think that's a good idea." He said.

"Why not?" Betty asked. "Archie's trustworthy Jug, I know you know that, and he wants to be friends again. I just don't want you to cut yourself off from everyone because of the circumstances we're in."

"I'm just not sure if I can do that." Jughead said looking at her. "I have a hard time letting people in Betts, especially with her."

"You let me in and that worked out right?" She smiled. "You need people besides me and Jellybean in your life."

"Maybe." He said hesitantly, giving her a small smile. "I'll think about it."

"Okay." She said, going back to her pancakes. The rest of breakfast passed quietly, Betty allowing Jughead to ponder the decision she'd laid on him. 

She truly hoped that he'd let Archie in, she wanted him to have friends he could turn to if he needed to talk to someone other than her about anything. Every time she spent time with Archie, he'd ask her about Jughead and she knew that he wanted to fix their friendship. When she'd first left home and moved in with Jughead, Archie and Veronica had both asked her if she was pregnant, assuming like the rest of the town that that was the reason but had taken her word for it when she said she wasn't. After that, Archie had become more intense when he asked about Jughead, wanting more than ever to rekindle their friendship now that he was such a big part of her life, and she'd tried to get Jughead to talk to him. So far she had been unsuccessful but she hoped this time that he would reach out.

Veronica on the other hand had become more intense in wanting to know about her and Jughead's relationship. She gave what she could without revealing the secret that Jellybean posed and Veronica was happy for her. Betty had told Veronica that she loved him, even though she had yet to say the words to him, but she wanted to. In an effort to get Betty to reveal intimate details, Veronica had given her an earful of things about Archie that she'd rather not have knowledge of, until Betty had finally told her that she and Jughead hadn't even had sex. Veronica had been surprised by that because they lived together but had accepted it easily when Betty had explained the fight with her parents and the reason she did live with him.

All of their nagging and questions were well meaning and exhausting but she was glad that they cared enough to ask and check up on her. Even Polly had pestered her with questions on their calls but Betty was more honest with her sister than she was with Veronica and Archie on account that she knew the whole story, including Jellybean, which Betty had informed Jughead of. He had been surprised but not angry when she explained that she'd told Polly about Jellybean.

After breakfast, Jughead cleaned the dishes while Betty wiped Jellybean down with baby wipes to get the stickiness off her hands before taking her out of the chair and placing her on the floor in the living room with her toys around her. Since neither of them had plans for the day, Betty proposed that they take a walk in the park, which Jughead agreed to easily. The park was quiet so early in the morning, only a few old couples walking their dogs around, as they walked the trails quietly.

"I always liked coming here early." Jughead said next to her and she glanced at him.

"Oh yeah?" She asked curiously and he nodded.

"There's never many people around and it's so quiet you can almost imagine that you're the only person in the world." He said.

"It sounds lonely." She said making him shrug lightly.

"Even before my dad got arrested, my parents were arguing all the time. To get away from it all I'd come here, either late at night or very early in the morning, where it was quiet." He said quietly. "I'd sit on the grass and imagine a different life, try to forget about my own."

"I'm sorry Juggie." She said softly. He laughed softly, looking at her with sad eyes.

"You know, I used to envy you, before I realized how bad it was with your parents." He said. "I knew that your mom didn't like you to get dirty and that she yelled at you sometimes, but when I was a kid your life seemed so much better than mine. I mean, at least you had parents who cared enough to yell at you, but that was all before."

"Before what?" She asked.

"Before I realized that the white picket fence could hide so much." He said. "I wanted that life. The one with the house and the picket fence, until I realized that it was all a lie, that everyone had issues and that that fence gave them a defense. Your parents are horrible and emotionally abusive but no one ever said anything to them because on the outside they look perfect. At least on the south side, people don't hide who they are."

"That's true I guess." She said biting her lip. "I mean, Veronica's family is a mess too and she lives in the Pembrooke so people _really_ don't pay attention to it. I think Archie is the only one on the north side with parents who are actually decent. He kind of won the lottery on that." 

"Yeah." Jughead said before sighing. "I hope we don't end up like my parents. I'd hate to fuck up Jellybean like they did me."

"We won't." She said, pulling him to a stop and making him look at her. She cupped his face in her hands. "We won't be like your parents, or mine, okay? We won't make the same mistakes that they did. We'll be better than them."

"You promise?" He asked quietly.

"I promise." She said, running her thumb across his cheek. He smiled softly and leaned down to kiss her lightly before pulling away.

"I'm glad you're a part of my life. I don't know what I'd do without you." He said.

"You'd be fine without me but I'm glad you don't have to be." She said, giving him a smile.

They continued their walk after that, making a few loops of the park before going home and spending the rest of the day watching TV and playing with Jellybean until the sun dipped below the horizon. Betty gave Jellybean a bath as Jughead made a bottle and sat out her PJ's and after getting her dressed, Betty handed her over and Jughead feed her and rocked her to sleep, Jellybean going down easily. 

Jughead rejoined Betty in the living room where they watched a few episodes of law and order together. During the second half of the second episode, Betty made a batch of popcorn and sat the bowl between them when she returned. They polished off the bowl quickly, totally absorbed in the episode until Jughead shifted to moved the bowl to the coffee table, drawing her attention away from the TV to him. He was already dressed in his pajamas, just like she was, his beanie on the desk in his room exposing his hair and Betty smiled as she shifted closer to him. He glanced at her as she ran her hands through his hair.

"What are you doing?" He asked quietly, a soft smile on his face.

"I like your hair." She said and he laughed as their eyes met.

"So you decided to run your hand through it?" He asked, a soft expression in his eyes and she nodded.

"Yep." She said. He reached up and pulled her hands out of his hair, grasping them in his own and bringing her eyes to his.

"I love you." He said softly, his voice serious. She stared at him for a long moment, her eyes wide, before she kissed him softly. He returned the kiss immediately, allowing her to control it and not complaining when she pulled away.

"I love you too." 

They stared at each other for a full minute, neither of them moving, until Jughead blinked breaking the spell. He pulled her in for a harder kiss and she made a muffled sound of approval as she climbed on his lap, a knee on each side of his legs, as his hands slipped under her shirt. Her hands went back to his hair, her fingers sliding through it as he nibbled on her lip. His hands ran along the skin on her belly before stopping just below her breast, squeezing her sides hesitantly, and Betty pulled back from the kiss for a moment.

"It's okay." She said softly before diving back into the kiss. She didn't wear a bra to sleep in so when his hands began moving again, he was meet with nothing but her bare skin, his thumbs brushing against her nipples and making her suck in a sharp breath. 

He tweaked her nipples making her let out a soft moan into their kiss before he pulled away to trail his lips down her neck. He pushed her shirt up and over her head, leaving her bare to him from the waist up, and their eyes met briefly before he shifted, lifting them quickly and laying her down on the couch. Her legs went around his waist, her feet locking together lightly as he looked down at her, before he replaced his fingers on her nipples with his mouth. 

Her back arched as the sensations flooded her senses and tingled along her spine. She bit her lip to keep the soft moans in as he rolled his tongue around her nipples and she shoved her hands under his shirt, running her hands along his skin. He pulled away slightly to pull his shirt off before going back to her nipples until she pulled him away with a hand in his hair and pulled him down for a searing kiss.

His body slotted between her legs and she could feel him, hard and ready, through their thin clothes. She lifted her hips slightly, making a sound in her throat and prompting him to move as well, the friction making her breathe heavily. He pulled out of the kiss to look at her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked and she nodded.

"I'm sure." She said. He studied her for a  moment but seemed satisfied with her answer because seconds later her hooked his finger on the band of her shorts and yanked them down off her legs. 

He kissed her again, his lips bruising against her own, before she felt him slid his hand between them. He ran his fingers along her for a minute, making her hips squirm, until he finally inserted a finger. She breathed out softly as she adjusted to the feeling, his lips trailing down her neck again as his hand began moving quickly between them, and she began moaning softly when he inserted another finger with the first. Her hips moved involuntarily as he pumped his fingers in and out of her and she bit her lips roughly. 

His lips on her neck sent shivers down her spine and making her clench around his fingers as her entire body felt like it was on fire. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as a pressure began building low in her belly, her breathing becoming ragged as the moans falling from her lips came faster. Suddenly Jughead's other hand clamped over her mouth and she looked at him. He had a slight smirk on his face.

"Shh." He said softly. "Don't want to wake her up, do we?" 

She shook her head as they pressure built more, his hand on her mouth somehow making it even better, until finally the pressure broke. Pleasure rolled over her, making her body shiver, as muffled moans came from her mouth and she saw stars behind her eyelids. Jughead stopped moving, taking his fingers out of her and moving his hand away from her mouth, before shifting away from her. She heard him shifting around and she was still coming down from her high when she felt him against her entrance and her arm flung out immediately, her mind still fuzzy.

"Wait!" She exclaimed and she felt him still immediately.

"Are you okay?" He asked and she looked up to meet his eyes.

"I'm fine." she said softly, touching his face lightly. "I only stopped you because we need a condom."

"Right." He said, glancing around the room. "Wait here."

He was only gone for a minute, coming back with a condom already on, before he resumed his position. Their eyes met as he pushed into her and she breathed out suddenly, he paused when he was fully in and she touched his face again.

"I love you." She repeated.

"I love you." He said.

It was only then that he began moving in her, distracting them both thoroughly, as they basked in the sensations flowing through each of them. She wrapped her legs around him, holding him close as he thrust into her, their breathing ad occasional moans filling the room and creating a symphony of sounds along with the sound of their skin slapping together. She ran her hands through his hair again, using it to bring his lips to hers. The kiss was sloppy, their teeth clinking together, as their bodies moved together but neither of them paid it any mind.

She bit his lips lightly making him thrust into her harder, as she ran her hands along his back, her nails biting in lightly. That pressure began building again, making her lift her hips to meet his desperately, chasing the high once more. He moved one hand down to her hip to keep her in place and he moved in and out of her, the other being used to prop him up above her, and he slowed his movements.

He started hitting that spot deep inside her on every stroke and she pulled out of the kiss to bury her face in his shoulder, her breath coming in gasps with every thrust of his hips. He grunted lightly, his thrust hesitating for a moment before going back to normal, and the pressure behind her belly button snapped rushing over her. She clung to him as the pleasure exploded over her again and he moved his hips in a few harsh thrusts before he stilled against her, his breath coming out in a rush.

They stayed in that position for a minute, until he pulled out of her, both of them still sensitive from their recent orgasms. Betty shifted to give him room to lay next to her on the couch as they caught their breath, his arm around her to keep her from falling off the edge. He brushed her hair from her face, their eyes meeting.

"Are you okay?" He asked again and she gave him a soft smile.

"I'm okay." She said. "Are you?"

"I'm amazing." He said and she laughed.

"Good to know." She said. 

"I'm glad it was you." Jughead said. "I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else."

"Neither would I." She said, kissing him softly. "I'm glad it was you too."


	16. Chapter 16

Jughead dropped his bag by the door as Betty moved to take Jellybean from his arms, dropping a kiss on his lips as she did, leaving Jughead to trail after her into the living room. It had been an exhausting day at school but thankfully neither of them had to work that day so it was a bit more calm at home. As Betty played with Jellybean on the floor, encouraging her to crawl for her toys, Jughead watched them from his seat on the couch with a smile on his face. Going to school, working and looking after a child at the same time was hard but it always made him happy to see Jellybean and Betty at the end of the day.

"So, I talked to Archie today." Jughead said, catching Betty's attention affectively.

"Oh?" She said, her voice raised in question. He shrugged as he looked at her.

"You were right. I need more people in my life." He said watching her face. She smiled at him happily.

"That's good Jug." She said before biting her lip and glancing at Jellybean. "Are you going to tell him?"

"Yes." He said and watched the surprise on her face. "I have custody of her now so I don't have to worry about someone taking her from me. I'm not ready to broadcast it to the whole of Riverdale but I can't keep it from Archie if we're going to be friends. I meant it when I said I didn't want to lie to him."

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" She asked, her eyes flicking over his face. "I didn't mean to push you the other day."

Jughead moved from the couch and joined her on the floor, cupping her face in his hands as he kissed her softly. "You didn't push me Betty. You encouraged me to reach out and I did. I'm really okay with doing this."

"If you're sure." She said, her expression soft as she looked at him.

"I am." He assured her before pulling away. "In fact I made plans to hang out with him today. If you can take care of Jellybean."

"Of course." She said, a bright smile erupting on her face. "Go. Have fun. We'll be here when you get home."

"Good." He said, moving to grab his coat and Betty left Jellybean in a circle of her toys as she joined him at the door. He smiled at her before kissing her on the cheek. "You can tell Veronica, if you want to."

"Are you sure?" Betty asked once again and he nodded.

"She's your best friend." He said, meeting her eyes. "Just like I don't want to lie to Archie, I don't want to force _you_ to lie to your friends."

"Okay." She said, wrapping him in a tight hug. "Good luck."

He nodded and left the house again, moving to his truck. He had agreed to meet Archie at Pop's and he knew that it would likely be awkward at first but it wasn't like they were strangers. They had grown up together just like he and Betty had but it was going to be strange to hang out with him after all of this time. Telling him about Jellybean was the thing that Jughead was the most worried about. He didn't think that he'd react badly, Archie was a good guy, a nice kid just like Betty, but Jughead didn't want to see the pity in his eyes that he was expecting.

He knew he didn't have to tell him but he'd realized that Betty was right, he needed other people in his life besides her and Jellybean. He had never been the most social person but when he'd been left with Jellybean and withdrew even more than he had already he realized how lonely it could be. He actually _missed_ being able to hang out at Pop's or go to football games like a normal teenager. He hoped that Archie's reaction wouldn't be too discouraging because it would be nice to have friends again.

Jughead expected to be the first one to Pop's but when he walked in Archie was already waiting in a booth in the corner of the diner. Jughead took a deep breath and squared his shoulders before walking to the table and sliding in across from the red headed boy. They looked at each other in silence for a moment before Archie seemed to nod to himself.

"I didn't know if you'd actually come." Archie said quietly and Jughead sighed.

"Well, here I am." He said, flattening his hands against the tabletop.

"I wanted to say thank you." Archie said making Jughead look at him in confusion.

"For what?" He asked and Archie shrugged lightly, staring at the table like he was uncomfortable.

"Betty." He said softly, looking back up at Jughead. "For giving her a safe place to go, you know, away from her parents. I offered to let her stay with me more than once but next door isn't far enough away to escape Alice Cooper."

"It's not a problem Archie." Jughead said seriously. "Betty and I....."

"I don't need to know." Archie said holding his hands up but the soft smile on his face let Jughead know he wasn't angry. "Whatever the two of you are doing together at home I don't need to hear about."

"Are you sure?" Jughead said teasingly. "I could tell you a lot."

"Absolutely sure." Archie said with a laugh.

"Alright then." Jughead said before grabbing a menu from the table. "Let's eat then."

They ordered their food and continued small talk throughout, just getting to know each other again now that they were older. Archie told Jughead about football and his music and in turn Jughead told Archie about the novel he was working on but leaving out a huge chunk of his life, not quite ready to drop the bombshell just yet. Sometime in the middle of the conversation, Archie got serious again and asked about Betty, how she was dealing with everything and Jughead assured him that she was fine.

Talking to Archie was easy and simple, both of them already familiar with each other from years of playing together before they grew apart, and it made Jughead happy to just talk to someone about normal high school concerns. For most of the conversation after Archie was assured about Betty, they steered away from girls and relationships, mostly due to Archie really not wanting to hear about Betty in that context. Jughead obviously knew that Archie was dating Veronica and it was obvious that Archie knew that Betty and Jughead weren't just friends and they left it at that for now.

Pop brought them extra milkshakes free of charge, which they both thanked him heavily for, as he took away their now empty plates. The time with Archie was winding down to an obvious close, both of them needing to get home soon, so Jughead forced himself to push the milkshake away as he looked at Archie seriously.

"There's something you should know." He said making Archie look at him.

"Okay." He said cautiously. Jughead glanced around the diner not wanting to be overheard but there was no one in the booths around them, the people who were in Pop's all the way on the other side of the diner, and Jughead took a deep breath.

"I want to be friends again Archie and I'm glad that you want that too but I don't want to lie to you." He said, meeting the other boys eyes. "What I'm about to tell you I need you to keep to yourself. It isn't a secret, not anymore, but I still want to keep it private."

"You can trust me Jughead." Archie said earnestly and Jughead nodded.

"I know." He said, blowing out a breath. "Okay....I have a child."

Archie stared at him in complete silence for a moment, his expression full of surprise as he studied Jughead's face, seemingly looking for a joke but Jughead just kept eye contact and waited for a reaction. Archie blew out a breath and ran his hand through his hair but he wasn't looking at Jughead with pity so he figured that it was okay.

"So, did you have a kid with one of the girls from the south side or something?" He asked finally and Jughead breathed out a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't freaking out.

"No." Jughead said. "She's not mine, biologically. She's my little sister but my parents aren't the best. I've had her since she was born."

"Oh wow. Okay." He said, his head bobbing as he processed the information. "Does Betty....no, of course she knows. Is....I mean, are you guys okay?" He looked up and met Jughead's eyes. "It can't be easy, raising a kid on top of everything else. I mean I'd have no idea what to do."

"We're okay." Jughead said quietly. "You're right it isn't easy, especially when I was doing it on my own, but Betty and I have each other. We love her and all of the sleepless nights and diapers, it's all worth it to see her smile at us in the morning."

"You and Betty." He said softly. "She's helping you raise a baby. A baby that neither of you asked for. I just....can't wrap my head around it, I guess."

"Maybe you should come over sometime." Jughead offered without even thinking about it. "Maybe if you see her, it'll seem more real to you."

"Maybe." Archie mumbled, staring at the table like it would give him answers and Jughead recognized that he needed to process the information he'd been given so he slipped out of the booth quietly.

"I should get home." He said softly. "But I'm glad we did this. I'm glad that we're mending our friendship Archie."

"Me too." He said, looking up at him for a moment.

Jughead left him in the booth to ponder their conversation and started on his way back home as the sun dipped below the horizon. The porch light was shining like a beacon in the dark by the time he reached the trailer. The windows were dark from the outside and as he eased the door open the trailer was quiet. He heard a soft humming coming from the bedroom and followed it after making sure the door was locked.

When he reached the bedroom, he stopped and leaned against the door frame, watching Betty as she rocked Jellybean in her arms. She was humming some lullaby as she bounced the baby lightly in her arms and it struck Jughead suddenly that he was looking at the rest of his life and it was amazing. Coming home to Betty and Jellybean made him happier than anything else in the world. As he watched, Betty lowered Jellybean into her crib still humming before she turned to him. She came over to him with a soft smile on her face.

"How'd it go?" She asked.

"Good." He told her. "He knows now. Took it better than I thought he would."

"Good." She said. "I'm glad that you have someone to talk to Juggie."

"Me too." He admitted before he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him gently. "But I missed you. Both of you."

"We missed you too." She said, smiling up at him. "I've gotten used to you being around all the time."

"There's no place I'd rather be than by your side." He said, kissing her softly. She returned the kiss for a moment before pulling away with a grin on her face.

"You realize how sappy that was?" She asked with a small laugh making him smile.

"Oh, it was super sappy." He said kissing her again, a smile on both there faces and Jughead found himself wanting to stay in this moment forever.


	17. Chapter 17

Now that Veronica and Archie knew about Jellybean it was easier to talk to them because she didn't have to worry about accidentally slipping up and saying something, she could just tell them about all of it which was better. They had come by a few days after Jughead and Betty had told them to meet her and they were both totally in love with her by the time they left a few hours later. It had been a good day for all of them and Betty was glad that Jughead had Archie back in his life because he seemed to be happier after he started talking to him again. He also sat with them at lunch now which Betty loved because it meant that they got to spend time together. She and Jughead were busy with school and work right after so they didn't get to spend as much time as they'd like together but they only had a few more weeks of school before graduation so they were managing.

At that moment sitting in math class Betty was so glad that school would be over soon because she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open and focusing on the board. Jellybean had kept them up all night with bouts of crying only allowing them to catch a few hours that weren't restful in the least. She was getting a couple of teeth in at the same time and she wasn't taking it well at all. They had tried everything from numbing gel to chilled teethers but none of it had made a difference leaving both of them to down copious amounts of coffee that morning before dropping her off with Mr. Topaz and making their way to school. Betty was glad that this was a class she shared with Veronica because she'd likely need to copy her notes later.

Her head was leaned on her hand and her eyes had slipped closed when the ringing of her phone jolted her awake. The entire class turned to stare at her, including the teacher, as she dug for it in her pocket fumbling with the button to put it on silent before she caught the name on the caller ID. Mr. Topaz was calling her and it made her heart start racing as her eyes snapped to her teacher who had her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at her.

"I need to take this." She said and the other students stared at her like she was crazy for even asking.

"Miss Cooper, we do not allow phones in class nor do we allow students to answer them." Her teacher snapped. "Put it away or I'll take it."

"Look, it's important. I wouldn't ask otherwise." Betty pleaded as the phone started vibrating in her hand again.

"I don't care if it's the president calling, you are here to learn not to socialize." She said and Betty grabbed her things and shoved them into her bag angrily as she stood from the desk.

"Respectfully ma'am, I don't have time for this. Something's wrong with my daughter and I need to call and make sure that she's okay." She snapped and left the room without waiting for a response as she hit the button to answer the phone. "Mr. Topaz, what's wrong?"

" _I tried to get a hold of Jug but he wasn't answering so I called you."_ Mr. Topaz's voice filtered through the phone. " _I need you both down at the hospital. They're treating Jellybean and they need a guardian to sign some papers."_

"Hospital? Is she okay? What happened?" She asked in quick succession as she raced down the hall toward the science classroom she knew Jughead was in at the moment.

 _"She was crawling around on the floor and banged into a shelf that I had some books stacked onto and they fell on her. She has a cut on her forehead and bruises but the doctors took her back and won't tell me anything else because I'm not family."_ He said just as Betty skidded to a stop outside the science lab.

"We'll be there soon Mr. Topaz." Betty assured him before she hung up the phone and pushed the door open. The students and teacher all looked at her but she ignored them as her eyes searched the room for Jughead who was on his feet the moment their eyes met. "We have to go."

"Miss Cooper, what is the meaning of this? The two of you can't just leave in the middle of the school day." He said and Betty blew out a breath.

"Family emergency." She said as Jughead joined her at the door and she pulled him out quickly letting the door click shut behind her. 

As they made their way to the front of the school and into the parking lot she filled him in on what had happened. The drive to the hospital was spent in tense silence and Jughead rushed to the desk the moment they stepped in asking for the location of Jellybean. The receptionist told them which room she was in and they made their way to it quickly pulling back the curtains to find Jellybean sitting on a bed in the room with a doctor on one side and a nurse on the other. Betty pulled the curtain closed behind them as Jughead moved to hug Jellybean gently.

"You're her parents?" The doctor asked and Jughead cleared his throat as he turned to address him and Betty took his spot at Jellybean side, running her fingers trough her hair gently. She noticed the IV in Jellybean's arm and knew that it couldn't mean anything good.

"I'm her brother actually but I have custody of her." He said and the doctor nodded.

"And you?" He asked, looking at Betty and she hesitated for a moment before Jughead answered for her.

"She's my girlfriend. She lives with us and helps me take care of JB." He said and the doctor nodded.

"Okay." He said nodding. "So I've checked your sister out and nothing seems broken but we will have to perform surgery which we will need your consent for."

"Surgery? For what?" Betty asked, holding Jellybean close making sure not to disturb the IV.

"When she was brought in we were told that some books fell on her so we did an ultrasound to check for any damage and it seems that she has some bleeding in the belly so we'll need to do an exploratory laparotomy to find the source of the bleeding and get it stopped." He explained and Jughead and Betty exchanged a look.

"How long will that take?" Jughead asked. "I mean, how long will she be under?"

"I'm not sure." The doctor said and Betty blew out a breath. "It depends on how long it takes us to find and fix the issue. It could take from an hour to three hours, it all just depends."

"Okay." Jughead said and Betty reached out to squeeze his hand lightly. "What do I need to sign?" 

The nurse moved out of the room for a moment before returning with a stack of papers that she handed to Jughead before showing him the places that he needed to sign. After he was finished she took the papers away and the doctor moved toward them.

"So what happens now?" Betty asked.

"Now we take her down to the operating rooms and begin." He said. "The two of you can stay with her until she's under and then someone will bring you to the surgery waiting room. We'll have people keep you updated throughout the surgery so that you know where we are."

People came into the room as the doctor released the brakes on the bed and began moving it down the hall and they followed after, both keeping a hand on Jellybean as they moved through the halls until they came into another room where a man was waiting.

"This is the anesthesiologist." The doctor said, motioning to the man. "He's going to give her the medication in gas form to put her to sleep before we take her on down to the OR. You can say your goodbyes here."

Betty stepped back to let Jughead hug her and he pressed a kiss to her head as he spoke to her softly, assuring her that everything was going to be okay, which Betty knew was more for him than her before he stepped away slightly to allow her to take his spot. She hugged Jellybean, taking in her scent before kissing her softly on the forehead, as she leaned back she ran her hand over Jellybean's baby soft cheek. She kissed her one last time before she and Jughead stood to either side with their hands on her arms as the man put the mask over her face. 

She started crying as he placed it and it took everything in Betty not to rip it off her face and pull her into her arms as if that would protect her. She knew that they had to let this happen but she hated it more than anything in the world. It didn't take her long to go out like a light and they were quickly being ushered out of the room as she was taken away by a group of people in scrubs. 

A nurse led them to the surgery waiting room where Betty wrapped her arms around Jughead and held on tight as she tried desperately not to cry. His arms wrapped tightly around her and she knew he was feeling it too as they stood there holding each other. She wasn't sure how long they stood there holding onto each other before Jughead tugged her to the seats where she sat with her leg bouncing.

"She's gonna be okay." Betty said softly.

"She has to be." Jughead said almost desperately.

"No, she will." Betty said firmly. "There's no other option."

"God Betty, I've never been so scared in my life." He said and she nodded as she took his hand in hers.

"I know." She said. "Neither have I, but we can't let ourselves think negatively right now. She's going to be fine. The doctor's are going to fix whatever's wrong and she's going to recover."

"You're right." Jughead said, looking at her. "We can't think negatively. She's a fighter, she'll make it."

"Everyone knows now." Betty told him. "About us and about her."

"What do you mean?" He asked and she sighed.

"When Mr. Topaz called me, I panicked. The teacher was lecturing me on having a phone in class and wouldn't let me answer it so I basically told her to shove it because my daughter needed me." She admitted. "I didn't mean to say it, it just kind of came out."

"You called her your daughter?" He asked and Betty couldn't read the expression on his face.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I know she isn't mine but sometimes it feels like she is. Are you angry?"

"No." He said softly, bringing his hand to her lip for a kiss. "I get it, sometimes I think of her as my daughter too before I remember the truth."

"And about everyone knowing?" She asked.

"They were all going to find out eventually." He said with a sigh. "It's okay. I know you didn't mean to. I understand the panic."

They fell quiet again for a few minutes as the clock on the wall ticked the time away and Betty sighed as she stood from the seat and began pacing the room, too worked up to sit still. There was no one else in the surgery waiting room and the quiet was slowly making Betty crazy. Jughead watched her movements as his legs bounced rapidly and she knew that the waiting was getting to him as well. They'd never been away from JB this long apart from school and it wasn't nearly as nerve racking because at least then they'd known what was happening with her but with this they just had to wait. 

"We should call Archie or Veronica." Betty mentioned as she passed by Jughead on her circuit of the room again and he looked at her.

"What?" He asked, seeming to emerge from a deep thought.

"Archie and Veronica, we should call them. V was in class with me so she knows something is wrong. We should update them." She said as she pulled her phone out of her pocket intending to do just that but was distracted by the amount of messages blowing up her phone from both of them and Toni.

"Jesus." Jughead breathed out and when she looked at him she saw his own phone in his hand. 

"They're worried." Betty said and sighed as she began texting them all back with updates. It was better than calling because she wouldn't be forced to sound cheerful plus they were all still in school so calling would probably be a bad idea anyway. After sending texts to them, Betty messaged Mr. Topaz to let him know what was happening seeing as they had both promptly forgot about him when they'd seen Jellybean and she knew that he'd be concerned and was likely still in the waiting room of the ER since he hadn't seen either of them and she wanted to let him know that it was okay to go home.

It seemed to be forever before a nurse came into the room to give them a progress report but it wasn't really a helpful one, just _We're still working on it, she's doing well,_ before she ducked back out but it still put Betty more at ease because at least they knew that she was still okay. Finally exhausted with her pacing she rejoined Jughead in the chairs and he seemed to be lost in thought, his hands resting loosely on the arms of the chair, so she grabbed a magazine to distract herself with rather than disturb him. 

She knew that it was possibly worse for him than it was for her because, though she loved Jellybean like her own, she hadn't been in her life as long as she'd been in his. He'd had her since she was born, largely by himself, and he'd formed a bond with her that was as close as any bond a parent has with their child. Betty was still building up that bond with her but theirs was fully in place and she knew that seeing Jellybean like that, hurt and afraid, while knowing he couldn't do anything was killing him. She'd felt the sting of leaving her in the hands of someone else and she hated it.

It was in that moment, as she slid her hand over Jughead's and he squeezed hers lightly, that she realized that they were parents. Maybe neither of them had contributed DNA or had gone through the process of birthing a child but all the same they were here. In her mind they weren't a brother and his girlfriend taking care of his little sister, they were a mother and father waiting desperately for any news about their daughter. It had happened slowly, the feelings growing in her mind, then all of a sudden when she'd gotten the phone call. It was like the news had jolted something in her mind and suddenly they weren't just playing house, she was a mother and he was a father and she knew now that neither of them would be able to give that up, even when FP got out of prison. She was theirs more than his.

The clock ticking on the wall made her all the more aware of the silence in the room. It almost felt unreal being here, like they were in limbo waiting to go from one place to the next, as they sat there. There were no windows in the room and it was enclosed on all sides unlike the open plan waiting room in the ER so you couldn't see out of the room, either outside or the hallway, so the passing of time seemed strange and almost disconnected from everything else. She knew logically that they couldn't have been there for that long, maybe an hour at the most, but it felt like so much more.

"What are we going to do about school?" Jughead said, breaking the silence for the first time in a while. Betty glanced at him, shaken from her own thoughts by his voice.

"What do you mean?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Even after the surgery she's going to need to be looked after for a few weeks as she heals. We won't exactly be able to take her to school with us." He said and Betty sighed.

"We only have few weeks of school left anyway." She said biting her lip. "I'm sure if we explain the situation to them then we'll be able to work something out and if not then we'll deal with it. JB's the most important thing right now." 

"I tried so hard to finish school even after I had to start looking after her. It'd be a shame if I couldn't finish but you're right she the most important thing, as long as she's okay then we'll deal with everything else as it comes." He said nodded as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I wish they'd finish already. If I have to spend much longer in this room without seeing her then I'm going to lose it." She said softly. 

"I know." He agreed. "I just need to see her and know that she's okay."

They lapsed into silence again, both of them too emotionally drained to keep up much of a conversation until they knew if she was going to be okay. Betty knew that their friends had probably texted back with more questions after she'd told them what happened but she couldn't bring herself to look because she didn't want to see questions that she herself didn't have the answers to yet. She'd text them later, after she saw Jellybean again. The door to the waiting room opened only a few minutes later and instead of the nurse they were expecting, it was the doctor they'd met in the emergency room. They were both on their feet immediately.

"She's fine." He started making Betty's breath go out of her in a relieved sigh which she heard Jughead echo. "We found the source of the bleeding, her spleen, which we removed. We stitched her up and she's now in a recovery room. She's still asleep and likely will be for the next couple of hours and we have her on a low dose of morphine for the pain but other than that we expect a full recovery given time to heal. She did really well. You can see her now if you wish to."

"Absolutely, take us to her please." Jughead said and the doctor nodded as he motioned for them to follow behind him. He led them through the halls until they reached a room with large wooden door with an elephant painted on it and the number 112 above it and Betty knew by the decorations in the hall that they were in the pediatric ward. The doctor pushed the door open and allowed them into the room.

Jellybean looked extremely small in the cot they'd put her in and she had things attached to her with wires coming out of them and a breathing tube in her nose. Betty and Jughead stepped toward the cot together to look down at her and Jughead reached down to stroke her hair. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically as the monitor next to her bed beeped out her heart rhythm. She had an IV coming out of her arm that she was getting her medicine from and she was wearing a tiny hospital gown with winnie the pooh on it and a soft pink blanket tucked around her. Betty breathed out a sigh of relief as she looked at her, finally having proof that she was okay. 

Jughead wrapped and arm around her as they stood over the crib, the doctor having left them alone in the room, and Betty found herself sending up a silent prayer of thanks for returning their girl to them. She knew the next few weeks would be hard as JB healed but she would take the hard nights and days gladly for the chance to hold her in her arms again. None of it was anything compared to the joy of knowing that she was safe and healthy.


	18. Chapter 18

Their friends had all been by to see them and check on Jellybean the day she'd been admitted but now they had been left alone with her again. The doctor told them that she'd have to spend a few days in the hospital before they'd be able to take her home and the nurse had shown them how to clean the sutures to make sure that she didn't get and infection before they'd been left in the room with her. The nurses had also brought a cot into the room for them to sleep on while they were there when it became obvious that they didn't plan to leave any time soon. The day after she'd first been admitted was when they began to deal with the logistics of everything.

Jughead had spoken to the hospital and they'd worked out a payment plan to cover the part of the bill that her state medical card didn't. They'd have to budget tightly for a while but they could handle it. He and Betty had also called the school to speak to them about their classes and thankfully they were offered the option of completing the rest of their classes remotely given that they only had a few weeks left, all they had to do was go to the school twice a week to pick up their work and drop it back off when it was completed, allowing them to graduate along with everyone else.

He'd also called his dad and told him about what had happened because he felt like he should know. Betty hadn't left Jellybean's side since they'd been reunited with her after the surgery and Jughead could see now just how involved she'd become in their lives. They were parents, it had happened so quickly and seamlessly that it felt like she'd always been a part of the picture rather than coming in a few months ago. He could see the bond that she'd formed with Jellybean in the short time they'd been in each others lives in the way that she spoke to Jellybean and brushed her hair off her forehead. Betty loved Jellybean just as much as he did.

"How are you doing?" He asked, placing his hands gently on her shoulders.

"I'm good." Betty answered softly, putting a hand over his on her shoulder as she glanced up at him. "What about you?"

"Good." He said as he pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "Now that I know she's okay."

"I've never felt fear like that before." She said quietly. "I just love her so much that I can't imagine not having her in my life. It happened so quickly, this feeling inside me, like my entire heart belongs to her."

"I know the feeling." He answered. "I'm told it's called parenthood."

"Is that what we are?" She asked, giving him a smile. "Parents? When did that happen?"

"You know, I'm not really sure." He said honestly. "It was like one day she was just my little sister who I was looking after and then, somehow, it became more than that. And during all of that you became more too."

"I feel almost guilty for thinking of her as my daughter sometimes." She admitted, turning her body to face him. "I mean, she has parents already, but I can't help how I feel."

"You shouldn't feel guilty Betty." He said honestly, touching her face as their eyes met. "Sure she has biological parents but they haven't been here taking care of her through all of it, we have. We've been the ones sharing sleepless nights and diaper changing duties. Don't feel guilty for feeling like a parent because you are and so am I. She had a mother who made the choice to walk away and a father that, as much as I love him, isn't very good at being a parent. She's ours and we'll raise her better than they could."

"What's your father going to think about that when he gets out?" She asked. "We're living in the trailer he bought and raising his daughter, he might not want to let her go."

"We're going to be in for a few long and serious conversations when he gets out but I know my father and despite his general attitude and overall disposition, he'll do what he thinks is best for her, which is us." Jughead assured her. "Besides it's not like we're going to kick him out of her life or anything and we'll obviously tell her the truth when she's older but she's _our_ daughter Betty, more than she is his, I know that you know that and believe me so does _he_."  

"Jug, are you talking about adopting her?" She asked, looking up at him. "Because that's kind of what it sounds like." 

"Yeah, I guess I am." He said, studying her face for a moment. "What do you think about that? I know we're young but she's already ours in our hearts so why not make it legal."

"Okay." She said with a nod as she glanced at Jellybean in her crib. "You're right. She's our daughter."

He kissed her softly before he pulled back to meet her eyes again. "Are you absolutely sure that you want to do this because it's for the rest of our lives and we haven't been together that long. I don't want you to feel obligated."

"I don't feel obligated Jug. Like I said, I love her with all of my heart and that isn't going to change." She said. "And as for us, we may not have been dating for that long but we've known each other our entire lives and, even if in some hypothetical future we didn't work out, I know that we'd still both be there for her. I want to do this _with_ you, okay? I'm all in."

"Okay." He said and she smiled at him before she got a serious look in her eyes.

"But Jug, you should talk to your father first before we make any plans. As much as you seem to believe that he'll allow it he could still say no, especially if he thinks we've been planning this behind his back all along." She said with a shrug. "I mean, you should at least tell him that we're thinking about it."

"You're right." He nodded before a sigh left his lips. "I could go see him now, if you're okay here alone."

"I am." She said, glancing at Jellybean. "I've got her until you get back."

"I won't be gone long." He said as he dropped a kiss on her lips and turned to kiss Jellybean softly on forehead. She was still groggy from the pain medication so she wasn't her normal happy self but she still gave him a tired half smile. 

"Take all the time you need Jug. We'll be okay here." Betty said, squeezing his hand as he turned to the door. He gave her a nod of acknowledgement for her statement before he slipped out of the room.

* * *

 

As he stepped outside the hospital he was greeted by a soft breeze and the sun shining brightly in the sky. It was a nice day outside and as he drove the hour to the prison where his father was he saw families out with their small children and it hit him again how close he'd come to losing that. This was the kind of day that he and Betty would bring Jellybean out to the park to play but now she was laying in a hospital bed. The thought of it made him sad so he turned the radio up loud enough to drown out his thoughts for the last thirty minutes of the drive.

He went through the process of signing in and being searched as he always did when he come here before he was led back to that room that he was starting to hate seeing to wait for his father to be brought out. His leg shook as he contemplated what he was going to say to his father hopefully without sounding like he was trying to steal his daughter. The sound of the door opening to allow the prisoners into the room made him blow out a breath and straighten his shoulders.

His father was brought over to his table and Jughead turned in his seat so that he was facing him completely with his hands folded together on the table in front of him. They studied each other for a long moment, neither of them speaking, until his father finally shook his head and took a deep breath.

"You look like hell kid." He said and Jughead shrugged.

"It's been a long couple of days." He said.

"How's Jellybean?" His father asked.

"Still in the hospital but the doctor said she's healing well and we can take her home in a couple more days. Betty's with her." Jughead said and his father nodded.

"Good. I'm glad she's doing okay." He said as he studied Jughead's face. "So, you and Betty, that's serious then?"

"Yeah dad, it's serious." He said before he bit his lip. "But I didn't come here to talk about that, or not directly, at least."

"Okay." His father said quietly. "What's this about then?"

"Jellybean." Jughead said, watching his father's face for a reaction. "Betty and I were talking about maybe making it a more permanent arrangement with her. I'm telling you this because I don't want blindside you with it or make you feel like we're trying to replace you in her life, because we aren't, but we love her and we want to give her a stable home."

"So you want me to sign papers giving her to you?" He asked, his eyebrows raising. "I already signed over custody boy."

"Those were only temporary custody papers. We want a more permanent solution, we want to be able to call her our daughter, legally." Jughead explained. "We want to adopt her and, yes that would require your signature, but we aren't going to kick you out of her life dad. We'll tell her the truth when she's older and before that you'll still be a part of her life. I know it's asking a lot of you, to give her up, but we'll take care of her."

"You're only eighteen Jug, both of you, you can't possibly understand what this would mean for you. While all of your friends are out there, exploring the world and doing all the reckless things young people do, you and Betty will be in Riverdale taking care of a child that wasn't your responsibility in the first place." His father said, covering his hand with his own. "I'm not angry that you asked to adopt her, I'm not even surprised, but you should think about it more before you do. If you still want to do it by the time I get out then I'll sign the papers, just take a moment to really think about the choice you're making."

"With all due respect dad, I've been the one taking care of her since the day she was born while you've been in here and mom has been god knows where, I know what it means, I know what I'm giving up but I don't care." Jughead said seriously. "I don't need to think about this decision because I already know that I'm not going to change my mind and neither is Betty. We want this and we're ready to take on the responsibility."

"Okay, have adoption papers drawn up and I'll sign them. I know this is what's best for her but I'm still sorry." He said softly, squeezing Jughead's hand. "You should never have had to take care of her, it shouldn't have been placed on you, but I'm glad that she had you. You've done a good job taking care of her Jug, better than I ever could've managed, so thank you." 

"Of course." Jughead said softly. He knew it couldn't be easy for his father to agree to the adoption but they both knew that it would be better in the long run. One day they'd have to sit down with Jellybean and explain all of this to her, everything about their family and her parents, but he knew that if they gave her a solid foundation and a loving home then it wouldn't be as devastating for her as it had been for him.

When he left the prison an hour later he felt lighter knowing that his father wasn't going to contest their bid to adopt Jellybean and he couldn't wait to get back to the hospital to tell Betty. Their family was unconventional and strange but it was _theirs_ and he wouldn't change a thing about it. Becoming a parent at eighteen hadn't been a part of his plan and he knew it hadn't been a part of Betty's but they loved Jellybean more than anything and seeing her in the hospital had confirmed for both of them that it wasn't a choice anymore, they were parents, whether they'd intended to be or not.

He knew that people would have something to say about it, they always did especially in a town like Riverdale, but it didn't matter to him anymore. He wasn't ashamed of his family and he was no longer afraid that if others found out that JB would be taken away so, let them talk, it won't matter what they have to say. They are a family and all they needed to make it official was a few signatures on paper. He was no longer afraid of the looks or the gossip because he had everything he wanted waiting for him and no one could take that away no matter how much they disapproved.


	19. Chapter 19

The next few weeks passed in a haze of anxiety and stress. Both Betty and Jughead took extra shifts at work to help cover the medical expenses that Jellybean's visit to the hospital had racked up while also trying to complete their school work and make sure that there was always someone home with Jellybean. They didn't want to leave her with anyone until she was fully healed so that they could be sure that her incision was cleaned properly the way they'd been shown at the hospital before they brought her home. They also had a meeting with Attorney McCoy to draw up adoption papers and went back to the prison to met with FP to get his signature on the papers before they filed them with the court.

Archie and Veronica had visited them frequently after school to check on Jellybean and make sure that they were doing okay but they had finally made it to graduation. They'd be walking across the stage at their graduation in two days time and coincidentally FP was getting released the day before their graduation. She and Jughead had spoken about it and were going to pick him up themselves and bring him home seeing as the trailer was technically his and not theirs. They had taken Jellybean to the doctor the day before to get her checked out and she was healing well and back to her happy smiling self. She had a scar that ran the length of her abdomen that she would likely have for the rest of her life but other than that she was completely fine. It had been a long road to get here but they had made it.

Betty was folding Jellybean's clothes while She and Jughead laid on the bed surrounded by toys when a knock sounded at the door. Betty and Jughead exchanged a look of confusion.

"Are we expecting someone?" Betty asked and Jughead shrugged.

"I didn't invite anyone but you know Archie and Veronica have a habit of just showing up." He said. Betty shrugged and sat the outfit she was folding back into the basket as she left the bedroom and made her way to the front door. Jughead trailed behind her with Jellybean in his arms as she swung it open to find Polly on the other side. Betty stared at her with wide eyes fir a moment before Polly launched herself at her and enveloped her in a hug.

"Polly! Oh my God, what are you doing here?" She exclaimed when her sister finally pulled back from the hug. Polly smiled at her.

"You didn't think I was going to miss my little sister's graduation did you?" She asked and Betty pulled her inside as she closed the door.

"I'm so happy to see you Pol, but aren't you supposed to be working? You didn't have to come all this way for me." Betty said and Polly shook her head.

"Don't be ridiculous Betty, I wouldn't miss it." Polly said,  brushing a stray hair from Betty's face. "I explained the situation to my boss and he gave me leave to come here. It's only for a few days so it's not like I'm putting him out or something, he already got someone to cover my shifts."

"Thanks for coming Polly." Betty said quietly. She honestly hadn't expected anyone from her family to be at her graduation so having Polly here made her happy.

"Of course." Polly said as she pulled her into another hug before her eyes caught on Jughead standing at the edge of the kitchen and she smiled as she moved toward him. "Is this your daughter? She's precious."

"Uh, yeah." Jughead said as he glanced at Betty. He obviously knew that she'd told her sister about the adoption but neither of them had expected her to refer to Jellybean as their daughter in such a casual manner. Polly smiled as she ran a finger along the back of Jellybean's hand prompting the little girl to smile back.

"Can I hold her?" Polly asked tentatively.

"Yeah, of course." Jughead said as he readjusted her in his arms to hand her over. "But be careful, she's still a bit tender from the surgery."

Polly nodded as she took Jellybean into her arms gingerly and bounced her lightly as she spoke to her in a soft voice. Betty moved over to stand next to Jughead as they watched her sister interact with their daughter. Betty was glad that Polly was supportive of her decision to adopt Jellybean alongside Jughead despite their age and short relationship and that she accepted Jellybean as part of the family easily. 

Polly spent a few hours with them before retreating back to her motel room after insisting that they all get lunch together the next day. Jughead of course suggested that they go to Pop's which Polly readily agreed to claiming that there was nothing like it in LA. Betty figured that they could get lunch with Polly before driving up to get FP seeing as he didn't get released until late in the afternoon. He had told them that he was happy to take the pull out sofa since they needed the bedroom more with Jellybean so Betty had made it up for him with fresh sheets and a nice comforter. Anything had to be better than a bunk in a cell so she didn't think he'd mind.

The rest of their day passed uneventfully with them finishing up the laundry and doing a little housework to ready the trailer for another occupant. Betty knew that FP likely wouldn't care if the floor was a little dirty or they hadn't taken out the trash yet but she was nervous. He didn't really know her at all, they'd only met a couple of times, but he'd entrusted his daughter to her so she didn't want to give him a reason to think he'd made the wrong decision. 

Jughead put Jellybean down for a nap before he came up behind her as she scrubbed at a stain on the counter that she just couldn't get to budge and he placed his hands over hers to make her stop. He gently turned her around to face him and placed his hands on her face to make her look at him.

"Relax." He said softly. "It's going to be okay."

"What if he hates me?" She asked desperately. "What of he decides that he doesn't want us to raise her? What if he takes her back?"

"Betty, this place was more of a mess when he was here than it is now, I don't think he's going to care about that stupid stain." Jughead said comfortingly. "Besides, even if he did change his mind, which he _won't_ , there's nothing her could do about it. The papers have been filed with his signature on them, she's our daughter, legally and nothing can change that. And ignoring all of that, he already likes you, so like I said relax."

"I just love her so much. I can't even think about losing her." She said, looking up at him.

"You won't." He said softly. "We won't."

Betty nodded and finally allowed herself to relax into his arms. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"You do everyday." He said, a soft smile curving his lips. "I love you too."

He kissed her then and she leaned into it allowing the stress and anxiety of the last few weeks flow out of her as she held onto him. They had only been together for a short time. realistically only a few months, but they'd already been through so much together. Being paired together for that history project had brought them so much and given each of them someone to lean on when things got hard and Betty wouldn't change a thing about her life now. She'd had a plan, one that she had been determined to follow, that hadn't included Jughead or Jellybean, hadn't included hospital visits, adoption or parenthood at eighteen, but the moment she had stepped foot in this trailer that plan had gone out the window but she couldn't bring herself to care. This hadn't been part of her plan but standing here now with the man she loved while their daughter slept in the next room was something that she had never expected but now couldn't live without. So much had changed in the span of such a short amount of time that it almost felt like fate had put her hand in and intervened to get them to the place they were.

* * *

Graduation was almost surreal. Betty and Jughead walked across the stage to collect their diploma's as FP sat next to Polly in the crowd with Jellybean in his lap, who had cutely clapped along with everyone else when they had, and just like that they were high school graduates. Many people, teachers and students alike, had crowded around them to meet Jellybean who had been delighted with all the attention and Polly had snapped a picture of them in their graduation gowns with Jellybean held between them. Years later that picture would hang in the hallway of the house that they had saved up for years to buy.

After graduation they had both started online college to gain degrees, with Betty going for business and journalism while Jughead focused on creative writing and literature,  while also working and tacking care of Jellybean. FP was surprisingly a big help. He had joined AA while he was in prison and had been clean and sober ever since he got released. He had also gotten his job back at Andrew's construction and left behind the life of crime he had been living. 

Archie and Veronica went to separate colleges on opposite sides of the country and their relationship fell apart in the first year but they both kept contact with Betty and Jughead regardless, always asking for updates on Jellybean. Betty had sent them both a video the day that Jellybean took her first steps and had received multiple excited texts back from both of them. Eventually they both found themselves back in Riverdale, with Archie moving back to take over Andrew's construction after his father passed away and Veronica moving back to run her online clothing shop remotely after she got tired of the big city. When Betty had asked her about it Veronica said that she had grown used to the slow pace of a small town and felt more t home here than she had in the city despite having spent less time in Riverdale than NYC. They had inevitably found their way back to each other and had gotten married two years later.

Alice had gone to counseling and reached out to both Polly and Betty with apologies and pleas to work out their relationships. Betty and Polly had had a long discussion about it before they had hesitantly allowed their mother back into their lives. It was slow at first but eventually they both realized that she was genuinely working on herself to be better and that was when Betty allowed her mother to finally meet Jellybean and Jughead. She now played a role in her life as a loving grandmother and Jellybean loved her a lot.

Betty and Jughead had decided not to have any more children until Jellybean was a little older. It was only when she was seven that they began to discuss it because by then they were both out of college and financially stable. Betty had taken over the register from her parents who had both decided to move on to other things and Jughead had just published his first book which had become an overnight bestseller. The first thing they did was sit down with Jellybean, who by this point knew about her adoption and the truth of who her birth parents were, to see how she felt about it. They didn't want her to feel like they didn't love her because they were having another baby that was biologically theirs but she had been even more excited about the prospect of a baby than they were so Betty had stopped taking birth control and had become pregnant fairly quickly. She had a little boy who they named Micah. Jellybean was delighted by her little brother and always insisted that she help with everything from diaper changes to feeding.

Gladys Jones never reached out to speak to Jellybean or even ask about her. The first time anyone heard anything about her was when cops showed up at their door looking for her and they had to explain that she hadn't been around for years. They learned that she was wanted for stealing cars and the murder of a woman in Ohio. She had eventually been caught for it about six months later, which they had seen on the news. Jughead had left Jellybean with Betty and gone to see her only once, to tell her everything he'd always wanted to say. He'd never told Betty what he'd said or how she had taken it but after that he'd seemed to have a weight taken off his shoulders so she was just grateful that he had the chance to confront her.

Their lives changed when they were eighteen but they had done the best that they could and had made the best life for themselves and their children that they could. When they got married they had sent a thank you note to the history teacher who had brought them back together and had inadvertently given them such an amazing life. It wasn't always easy and they'd had a few bad fights throughout all of it but they loved their life and their family and neither of them ever regretted their decision to adopt Jellybean. Betty didn't know if it was coincidence or fate or an accident that brought them together but she thanked her lucky stars everyday for leading her to this life.

 


End file.
